Star Crossed
by KasidyQ
Summary: Romeo and Juliet... Bleach Style. The classic tragic love story with a twist. Will Jasmine and Ichigo suffer the same fate as the historic couple? Rated M for language, possible violence, possible character death, and sexual situations in later chapters. Many character appearances. Slightly AU, but mostly cannon-ish.
1. Damaged Pride

**A/N: Okay guys, this one's been setting around on my computer for a while unfinished so I figured why not finish it on here. I'm really a little worried about grammar and spelling mistakes since I don't have a beta so please excuse any major errors. I apologize in advance. I've got a few chapters written so updates will be pretty quick for a while, but they will definitely slow down when I get to the newer chapters I'm writing. Please enjoy.**

 **Oh, and obviously I don't own Bleach or any of its characters no matter how much I want to! They are Tite Kubo's babies *Sad Face*.**

CHAPTER ONE- DAMAGED PRIDE

Jasmine shuffled her feet when she walked. Even after her older sister told her time and time again how bad of a habit it was. She also slouched. Very unbecoming. She watched the pebbles she had inadvertently kicked scatter across the sidewalk. Risking a glance up, she saw the orange haired boy walking at least a block in front of her. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and immediately looked down at her feet again. After all these years, he'd never even once looked back at her. She doubted he even knew they were walking to the same school, let alone lived on the same street. It's not like she actually wanted him to see her. She'd never be able to speak to him anyway.

"Hey." a voice from behind her nearly sent her into shell shock. She glanced back, putting a hand over her chest, like that would help slow her thumping heartbeat. She smiled slightly and nodded at her friend. Uryu Ishida was one of the only people in Karakura Town she wasn't nervous around, they'd known each other nearly their entire lives. "Mind if I walk with you?" He asked halfheartedly. He would, even if she had said she did mind.

"You're going out of your way again." she observed. He just shrugged. She should be used to it by now. He often went out his way to make sure she made it to and from school safely. It didn't bother her. "Did you study for the exam?" her voice was so quiet, he almost missed the question. He looked sideways at her and noticed she was peeking through her bangs, eyes ahead of them. Uryu sighed and looked up at Ichigo's retreating form. He hated the way she clammed up whenever the ex-soul reaper was anywhere in sight. It was very annoying. She should have more pride in herself.

"Of course I did. Did you?"

"Yeah... sort of." a soft reply again.

"Hey! Ishida!" Ichigo called out and waved, slowing his pace only a little so his friend could catch up.

Jasmine gasped. She had to get out of there! She ducked behind her friend and looked around for an escape. The school gates came into view and she made a mad dash for them, running past other groups of students until she was safely inside the archway.

She was such a coward! He was just a boy. A typical normal human boy. No reason to get so worked up. She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, peeking around the stone wall at the two boys approaching. A smile crept across her face as she watched Ichigo staring at his feet, kicking rocks out of his path as he walked. "See? Totally normal." She told herself, even if she knew better.

The school day seemed to drag by. They always did when she spent most of her time trying to avoid conversation with anyone. She was perfectly content with being the wallflower. That meant that she could avoid any unwanted questions about herself. When the final bell rang, she grabbed her books and walked as fast as she could to get far away from the noise of all of her class mates. Half way down the hall, she realized she had left her jacket hanging on the back of her seat. "Shit!" she growled at herself in frustration. Turning around, she headed back to class, shuffling her feet and staring at her shoes again.

Without looking up she rounded the corner of the classroom and smacked hard into something, or rather someone. The books she'd been holding slid across the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry." She mumbled squatting down to gather her things. "No, it was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you okay?" A hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up and froze as she met the brown eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki bending down to help her. She didn't even dare to breathe as he looked at her with concern. "Uh... yeah." She finally managed to squeak out. She cringed inwardly at the sound of her own voice. "Thanks, um... sorry." She quickly retrieved the rest of her things and stood at the same time as he did, causing her forehead to connect with his chin. "Oh... no, I'm sorry." She groaned. He smirked at her rubbing his chin. The blush that had consumed her cheeks had now started to burn all the way into her ears. "I..." She turned on her heel and bolted down the hall.

Ichigo watched her go, not even trying to hide the smile on his face. Uryu walked up beside him and gave him a pointed glare. Ichigo nodded toward the girl disappearing down the hall. "Who was that?"

"You're serious?" the Quincy looked at him like he was obviously missing something.

"Yeah... What?"

"She's only been in your class for three years!"

"Dude, you know I'm not good with faces." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

"You're hopeless. She lives three houses down from you, idiot!" That didn't surprise him. He'd never paid attention to his neighbors.

"She's kind of cute."

"NO!" Uryu barked.

"What? I'm just sayin'..."

"Just don't." Uryu rolled his eyes and walked away. Jasmine had to be a nervous wreck right now. She DID NOT do well with people, but he didn't have time to chase her down just yet. He'd just sensed the presence of a hollow. He whipped out his cell and sent a quick text before he ran out of the school.

 _ **To: Jazz**_

R U OKAY?

She stared at the text for several minutes. She was certainly not okay! She was in the middle of a very serious freak out. _He_ had spoken to her and she had utterly embarrassed herself. God, she was pathetic! But Uryu had more important things to worry about than her stupid damaged pride. She was just being dumb again. He didn't need to know that. She finally sent him a text back.

 _ **To: Uryu**_

I'M FINE.

 **A/N: Opinions? Kind of a short chapter. I'll work on that. I started this story a while back and had to re-read it a million times and almost decided not to post it, but seeing as how today is my birthday, (YAY! CELEBRATE WITH ME! LOL!) I figured I'd just throw it out there and hope for the best. I hope you guys liked it. Review! It'd be the perfect birthday gift! ;)**


	2. Bad Blood

**A/N: Okay so I'm giving you another chapter. Two in one day! Yay! Well, sorta yay… I just rewrote like half of this chapter and maybe I'll regret it later but right now, I just needed to cheer myself up. Not having the greatest birthday ever so what's a better way to do that than to write an intense argument scene? Lol. Hope you like it!**

 **Thanks again and again to PandaHat97, my loyal reviewer! Lol. You have no clue how much your review cheered me up today! And you were sort of right, Ishida's definitely got some kind of feelings for Jasmine, but I can't tell ya what they are…. Not yet anyway. ;-)**

CHAPTER TWO – BAD BLOOD

Ichigo glared at the teacher in his last hour class. This woman's voice had the ability to drive a nun to drink. It sounded a lot like nails on a chalkboard or maybe two pieces of Styrofoam rubbing together. He slipped his ear buds in, turned on his iPod and pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head. The lilting music just barely drowned out the high pitched squeak that was currently butchering Romeo and Juliet. He really liked the way Old English words sounded and he usually loved to read Shakespeare but his teacher was making a mess of it. Sudden movement across the room caught his attention. Uryu bolted out of his seat, waving the teacher off with some lame excuse, and ran out of the class room. A quick look out the window told him what he was already knew. Within a few moments, he could see the dark haired boy sprint away from the school. No doubt there was a hollow nearby. Ichigo winced as the instinct to fight surged its way up from the missing part of his soul.

He pulled his eyes reluctantly away from the window only to spot the strange girl from the day before. She was staring out at Uryu disappearing in the distance. She looked tense and worried. He wondered if she knew anything about Quincies or hollows or... Soul Reapers… or what the Soul Society might do if Ishida didn't stop destroying so many hollows on his own. He shook his head and sighed. She was probably just worried about her friend skipping class.

Jasmine watched Uryu until she couldn't see her friend anymore. She knew he'd be fine but she really worried about him anyway. She looked around the class room at the other students and saw most of his other friends were watching out the window as well. At least the others could help if something were to go wrong. She wished there was something she could do to help him but she'd long ago realized she was useless. It was a fact she despised but accepted. It was just part of being completely and utterly weak.

"Miss Isaka." The teacher's shrill voice cut through her thoughts.

She lowered her eyes to her desk. "Yes ma'am?" She answered softly.

"If you're through daydreaming, can you read the next lines to the class?"

Jasmine swallowed hard. A few snickers from around the class room assured her that all eyes were on her. And how she hated that. She entertained the idea of pretending to be sick, but doubted anyone would buy it.

"But if you don't know where we are..."

"Um, excuse me, Mrs. Matsuda? I need to use the restroom."

Jasmine turned and met the gaze of her orange haired rescuer as he passed by her seat, extending a long finger to the book on her desk, discretely pointing to the place she needed to be reading from. She offered him what she hoped was a small smile of thanks as he walked away.

She cleared her throat and began reciting the lines she already knew by heart, all while watching Ichigo leave the room.

"...I do pretest I never injured thee,

But love thee better than thou canst devise.

Till thou shalt know the reason of my love:

And so good Capulet,

Which name I tender as dearly as my own,

Be satisfied."

The ringing of the final bell signaled the end of the day just in time. Ichigo stood leaning against the outer wall of the class room waiting for the students to file out. He had listened as the girl recited Romeo's plea to Tybalt almost as if she sympathized with the fictional hero. That was the way Shakespeare was supposed to be read. She knew the story behind the lines, he could tell be the emotion in her voice. Not that he was an expert or anything. He just loved a good story and Romeo and Juliet was one of his favorites.

When he thought everyone had trailed out, he entered the room to retrieve his things from his desk, nodding an apology to the teacher who was also leaving for the day. That's when he noticed the girl gathering Uryu's abandoned possessions from his desk. "He's not back yet?" He fought the urge to face palm when she looked up at him but didn't bother to answer. "So... what's your name?" he ran a hand through his hair and forced a tight smile. It felt as fake as it probably looked, but he was trying not to scare her off with his permanent scowl that was way more comfortable to him than it should be.

"Jasmine" She nearly whispered. She was resisting the urge to bolt. Everything about Ichigo Kurosaki unnerved her. She'd spent years watching him from a distance and now he was just a few feet away, with a smile that, even though it made her heart leap into her throat, didn't suit him. She knew who he was. She knew what he was or rather what he used to be, and that was simultaneously the reason she wanted to be near him and the reason she wanted to run for cover. "I'm Ichigo. You... uh, you live near me, right? Do you mind if I walk with you?" he stuttered, not quite looking at her. Her mind raced. She didn't trust her own voice so she simply nodded and started to walk past him. He held out a hand and stopped her, grabbing half of the huge pile of books she carried. Her face heated to near blazing and she dropped her eyes to floor and walked quickly ahead.

The walk home was becoming more than just awkward. Jasmine had barely spoken two words to him the whole time. Ichigo had given up trying to get a conversation started and just walked beside her in silence. Her phone suddenly started ringing and he had to catch some of her things when she nearly dumped them on the ground trying to answer it. She was really cute when she blushed like that though, so he didn't mind.

"Hello...

Are you hurt?...

Don't snap at me!...

I have your things...

No, I'm with, um, I'm nearly home already. Come over and I'll try to...

Fine, let her do it! Just come get your damn books!"

She stuffed the phone in her back pocket with a huff that blew her long bangs out of her eyes.

Ichigo watched the strange conversation with mild interest. Obviously, she was talking to Uryu. She seemed so open just then… and angry! The hard lines of a frown on her soft features looked out of place. Where was all that skittish shyness she showed around him? The other two were obviously very close. He wondered again how much she knew about everything. "Is he okay?" he asked calmly watching the hint of anger light up her dark blue eyes.

"Yes, he's fine. He's with Orehime Inoue. She can fix him right up." She fumed sarcastically, then slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that!"

Ichigo waved off her apology with one hand. "You say 'I'm sorry' a lot, don't you?" He smiled again. It was starting to become a habit around Jasmine.

She spared a small glance up from the ground to his eyes then back down again. "Yeah, sorry… I mean… never mind." He was laughing at her now, and the skin on her face, ears, and neck was on fire as the furious blush spread and deepened. Looking ahead she let out a long, grateful breath when she noticed where they were. "I, um, this is my house." She recovered, silently thanking whatever deity was listening that they'd made it there before she died of embarrassment. Snatching her belongings from Ichigo, she jogged up the path to her door. "Thank you!" she called back to the confused boy staring after her.

Once inside, Jasmine scolded herself for her ignorant slip. It was an unspoken rule that she wasn't supposed to talk about what she knew. What made it worse was that she'd almost thrown a temper tantrum in front of the one person she didn't even need to be speaking to in the first place. She paused just before marching up the stairs and listened. No one was home. Another reason to send thanks to the gods. She didn't want to deal with her overbearing sister just now.

She retreated to her bedroom and threw the massive pile of her and Uryu's books on the floor. That uptight asshole could sort them out when he got there. She collapsed backwards on her huge bed. She made up her mind that she would totally blame her current mental state on her obnoxious friend. He just had to go and ruin her almost-good mood by letting that ditsy girl heal even minor scrapes and bumps for him. It just drove the nail in Jasmine's coffin. She couldn't even help him when all he needed was a band aide! "Rub it in why don't you, Uryu?" She mumbled aloud.

She heard the front door open and slam shut downstairs. She rolled over buried her face in her pillow wishing it would make her invisible as she heard the clip-clip of high heels on the stairs. As her bed room door flew open and bounced off her bare walls, she knew the storm that was Aria Isaka was home.

"So, I just saw the most curious thing. Do you want to know what it was?" her sister bellowed.

"Not really, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway." Jasmine groaned, setting up to look at Aria. Her sister couldn't be described in any other way than cold. Even though they both had the same auburn hair, Aria's was always pulled into a tight perfect little bun where Jasmine usually wore hers down in tousled curls or up loosely in a messy braid. Aria's eyes were icy blue and at the moment they were glaring daggers at her. Her manicured fingernails drummed lightly from there place where she had her hands on her hips. She shook her head at Jasmine in disgust.

"That damned Soul Reaper was standing in front of our house! Why?"

Jasmine flinched. "He lives down the street. He was probably on his way home." she lied quickly. Oh god, she was in so much trouble. Why had Ichigo stood out there for so long? The moron!

Her sister laughed, if you could call the small sarcastic noise she made a laugh. "You're a horrible liar. Stay away from him. It's for your own good, and his." The words dripped venom and made Jasmine's stomach clinch. With that, Aria sauntered out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

A tap at her balcony door made her jump and spin around. Uryu waved at her through the decorated window pane. She frowned, not only at his smug face but the pattern of the large Quincy cross etched into glass. She motioned with a slight nod of her head and he slid the door open and strolled in. "You could have used the front door, you know?" She grumbled as Uryu sat beside her on the bed. "And deal with Aria? No thank you." He gently placed a hand on her arm and watched her eyes for any sign into what she was thinking. "Are you okay?"

She could see the way he was looking at her and it only made her even more pissed. "Stop treating me like I'm going to break!" She tried to shrug off his hand only to be wrapped up in a tight hug, and the dam broke that was holding back tears she hadn't even realized she felt like shedding.

Uryu held his friend against his chest gently stroking her hair while she sobbed. He only hoped that this would be the time she decided to talk to him about it. He wouldn't push her though. That never ended well.

"I really messed... up this time... Uryu... I let him walk me home... and he... when I was... on the phone with you..." She was blubbering into his shirt in between sniffles and making no sense what so ever, but he just let her talk. All of this was about a boy? What boy?

"Then he was down there... Aria came home... and she saw him!" She busted into inconsolable crying again.

Uryu tried to hide his laugh as he sat her up and tried to wipe her tear stained cheeks.

"You're going to have to calm down a little. I can't understand what you're trying to say. Who's the _he_ you keep talking about?"

"Ichigo..." she said through a sniffle.

"Shit."

Jasmine's eyes dried instantly and she glared daggers at her friend. "That's exactly what I'm in, deep shit! No thanks to you!" She deadpanned. She slapped Uryu in the back of the head nearly knocking his glasses from his face. He looked at her in shock as she seemed to have regained her self-control rather quickly.

She stood and started pacing in front of the bed until he jumped up to stop her. "How is any of this my fault?" he exclaimed. "You let him walk you home?! You know how Aria feels about Soul Reapers! You are explicitly ordered to stay away from them... especially Ichigo Kurosaki! And you know Aria won't just let this go. This is bad, Jazz. Like really, REALLY bad." Now he was pacing.

"You think I don't know that? You walk around me on egg shells, like I'm some fragile little china doll, but it's totally okay to throw orders at me about who I can and can't talk to. As if just speaking to Soul Reapers will cause them to rip out my heart and feed it to a hungry den of lions! And what's the deal with Ichigo? He's not even a Soul Reaper anymore, and I'm not... I'm not a... I'm just sick of it! I don't even agree with all this bad blood with the Soul Reapers anyway, and neither do you. So get off my ass, Ishida!"

"You know what I'm sick of? You blaming me for your situation! That's why I walk on eggshells around you! You are so damned emotionally constipated that you can't even deal. And you take it out on me! It's not my fault that you don't have any powers!" As soon as those last words left his mouth, he regretted it. That was the one subject that was off limits and he'd not just stepped over that boundary, he'd stomped on it, totally obliterating the invisible line.

Jasmine stood and stared into his eyes for a long moment before gritting her teeth, literally hissing breath through them. She slowly walked over to the discarded pile of books in the floor and gathered everything that belonged to Uryu. She heaved the pile into his arms and stepped away, turning her back to him.

"Jazz... I'm sorry."

"Get out!"

 **A/N: Uh oh. Poor Jazzy! She just ticked off her only friend. I wonder what her deal is anyway. Oh well, tell me what you think is going on. It'll be at least a week before I upload a new chapter. I'm going to try and start a regular upload schedule soon. Maybe Chapter updates on Fridays and One-shots on Mondays…. I dunno. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading! Please review if you have time!**

 **Love Ya'll!**


	3. A Spark

**A/N: So here's another chapter. I have officially hit a brick wall after this one. Third chapter and already dealing with writer's block. Blah! No worries, I'll work through it. Thanks again to PandaHat97 for your reviews. Glad you caught my spelling error. I knew it didn't look right but I forgot to go back and check it. Lol. I'll fix it eventually. And apparently I can't upload a file, so I had to copy and paste which destroyed the formatting and just... ugh! Sorry if I didn't catch something weird. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER THREE- A SPARK

Three days had passed since Ichigo had walked Jasmine home only to be left standing at the end of her drive, staring at a closed door like the complete fool he knew he could be sometimes. Three days, and still no sign of her at school. He'd went over what he wanted to say to her at least a million times but every day, he'd been forced to scowl at the empty desk at the front of the room. Uryu wasn't much help either. He seemed to be in an extremely foul mood lately. Even more so than usual, if that was possible. Every time Ichigo would ask about her, the other boy would snap at him, making offhand comments about minding his own business. Lovers' quarrel, he guessed. She had looked very peeved that Uryu was spending time with Orihime the other night.

He mused over the possibility of Uryu and Jasmine being a secret couple and nearly growled out loud. He looked over at the four-eyed dork and shook his head. What did she see in that guy? He was condescending, impossibly hard headed, hot tempered, and just an all-around jerk! She seemed so quiet and shy, the very definition of innocent. They say opposites attract but damn! He couldn't help but ask himself why he really cared in the first place. She had just peeked his curiosity was all. She had to at least know about Uryu being a Quincy and Orihime's healing ability if that phone conversation was any indication. Just what else did she know? Ichigo was determined to find out, one way or the other. For the sake of curiosity. Right.

It was that thought that had made him leave school at lunch. It was the driving force that led him to the giant three story house at the front end of his street. Even now, it was just his curiosity ringing the doorbell. He checked again for the fancy little compact car that had nearly ran him over the other night and sighed with relief that it wasn't in sight. He had no desire to see the woman driving it again. She had nailed him with a look that had made his feet carry him away of their own volition.

He rang the doorbell again and heard movement behind the door. "Hello? Jasmine, are you in there?" He called. "This is stupid." He grumbled to himself. She was probably sick in bed or something and here he was shouting through a closed door at god knows who on the other side. He'd try one more time, then he was out of here. He really shouldn't have skipped school anyway.

Jasmine tensed, her forehead rested on the cool wooden door, both hands pressed flat against it, willing the boy on the other side to leave. She knew she shouldn't answer the door but she was so tempted. She was both mentally and physically exhausted from trying to stay away from him. He had a magnetic pull that she couldn't explain. She'd watched him for years, silently rejoicing in his every victory. When Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers had faded away, she had felt his pain in her own heart. She wished she could tell him how much she understood that loss.

"Please go away, Ichigo." she found herself saying with more strength in her voice than she intended.

"Jasmine? Is that you?" A timid muffled voice came from outside.

She straightened and stared open mouthed at the barrier between them. He'd heard her. Damn it! "You shouldn't be here." She called to him trying to keep the pleading out of her voice.

"Yeah... I'm sorry. I was just... checking on you. I'll go."

"No!" The door was open before she even registered what she'd done. "You don't have to. I mean, you _should_ go but..." Oh, hell. What was she doing? She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and met his intense eyes. "My sister... she doesn't like visitors."

Ichigo was surprised to say the least when the door had swung open, revealing a very cute, very nervous Jasmine, long dark hair in a mess of a braid, knee length gray sweats, and a white over-sized t-shirt, cut to lay just above her slender waist. It hung loosely off of one pale shoulder. He shoved his hands in his pockets to fight the sudden urge to touch her exposed skin. "We could maybe go somewhere else then. If you want to. How 'bout my place? Nobody's home right now." He didn't mean it to sound like a pick up line, but that's exactly how it'd come out of his mouth. 'How 'bout my place?' Shit, he'd sounded like a creep!

She giggled at the tortured looked on Ichigo's face. The thought of being alone with him did funny things to her insides but she knew he didn't mean it that way, despite how it sounded. She looked at the typical brooding expression slipping back on the ex-soul reaper's face and couldn't help but smile. Thinking back on the conversation with Uryu, she realized that she really was sick of doing what everyone expected of her. With new resolve, she stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Okay, let's go."

"Really? Great! I mean, good. I uh, I'm glad you feel up to it." he stammered. Why couldn't he think straight around this girl?

She laughed out right this time. It sounded strange to her own ears. How long had it been since she'd really laughed? "So, what did I miss at school?" she asked quietly.

"Not too much. I'll let you borrow my notes. Except, they won't help much in English Lit. I wasn't paying much attention." He grumbled as they walked the short distance between their homes.

"Oh, that's fine. I love Shakespeare. I could... help you, if you want." Jasmine offered as they reached his door. Ichigo paused in his effort of unlocking it only briefly to look at her and smiled. A real, genuine smile, and her heart slammed against her chest.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." He didn't have the heart to tell her that he understood Shakespeare completely but just didn't like that particular teacher. He just figured he could play dumb if he had to.

She followed up the stairs to his bedroom and stood in the center of the room as he ran around her throwing piles of clothes behind closet doors and straightening up papers on his desk.

"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't really prepared for company." He mumbled, finally taking a seat on his bed. "You can sit, you know, where ever."

"Thanks", she smiled and slowly sat beside him. It was awkwardly quiet. She was actually doing it! She was in Ichigo Kurosaki's room, on his bed, and there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it! She was so proud of her self. Jasmine wanted to scream and cry and laugh all at the same time.

"So, um... you and Ishida are pretty close huh?" Ichigo asked finally breaking the silence. His curiosity had gotten the best of him again. He needed to make sure he wasn't breaking the 'bro code' here, after all.

"Yeah, Uryu's a good friend." She said sadly. She hadn't really spoken to him since their fight the other night and she did feel a little guilty for blaming him for... well, everything.

"Just a friend? I thought you guys might be together or something."

"Me and Uryu?" She laughed. "No! We're practically related! I mean, we're not really, but we might as well be. Anyway, I've known him all my life."

"Almost related, huh? That's cool, I guess." He let out the breath he'd been holding. Thank the gods! At least his friend couldn't get pissed at him for having his girlfriend alone in his bedroom. On. His. Bed. Damn. "Is it hot in here?" He leaped to his feet, unzipping his jacket and tossed it over the back of his desk chair.

Jasmine couldn't speak, she was too occupied with staring. Ichigo's shirt had lifted briefly in his mad dash to take off his jacket, exposing just a glimpse of the tanned muscles beneath his shirt. God, he was beautiful! She'd never imagined being this close to him before. Now, she was so close she could almost touch him. And she wanted to touch him! To feel those hard abs and that smooth chest. To run her hands through his abnormally bright hair...

"You want something?"

"Uh, what?" she swallowed hard, looking into his deep brown eyes and heat pooled low in her stomach.

"Do you want something? Like a drink or whatever?"

"Oh, no thanks." She was seriously starting to understand why she shouldn't be around Ichigo. If he had this kind of effect on her without even trying, she would be a big puddle of goo if he actually ever did. Did he even know how hot he was?

"Jasmine, can I ask you something?" Ichigo twirled his desk chair around backwards and straddled it. Now that he'd put some distance between them, he could think more clearly.

She nodded, looking anywhere but at him, not that she hadn't noticed his graceful movements or the way his long legs and slender body made his new position look more masculine than it should. She scooted back a little on the bed and crisscrossed her legs underneath her, glaring at her now fidgeting hands in her lap like they had seriously offended her.

"Do you know what Ishida... is? I mean... aside from the obvious." Well, that sounded stupid. It didn't even make any sense. He just hoped she got his point. The sharp intake of breath and surprised expression on her face clued him in that she did.

Uh oh. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't say anything about what she knew. It went against everything she'd ever been told but she wanted so badly to share her secret with someone. No, not with just someone. With Ichigo. She had wanted to tell him for so long that she understood him. This might be the best way to do that. She steadied her breathing and sat up straight, looking him in the eye. "He's a Quincy."

"Wow..." he breathed.

"What? You can't tell me you didn't know that." she leveled, sounding much calmer than she felt.

"It's not that. Yeah, of course I knew. I just didn't expect you to be so... direct about it."

"Why not be direct? I know about a lot of things. Probably more than you do." Damn it! She hadn't meant to be such a... a what? Ichigo was wearing that scowl again. Well, shit! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"Tch, its fine. Are you sure you're not really related to Ishida? You kinda sounded like him just then. So… does that mean you're a Quincy, too?" He might have been annoyed by her condescending tone but by the stern look he was being given, he was pretty sure he'd just pushed her too far. Her eyes had narrowed, and her fingernails dug into his blanket so hard he could see her knuckles turning white.

"No!" she shouted, then closed her eyes taking slow measured breaths. This is what she wanted to tell him. She needed to just calm down and say it! "No. I'm not." She opened her eyes and studied her companion. He would be excepting. He would understand. She repeated the thoughts over and over to herself like a mantra. "Not anymore."

Ichigo was shocked but he recognized the pain and regret hidden behind her steady blue eyes. "You lost your powers."

It wasn't a question, but she nodded in response. He didn't ask how or when and she was grateful. She wasn't used to talking to anyone so openly about it, or anything else for that matter, and she wasn't sure she was ready to now. So much for her new found bravery.

"I know how that feels, Jasmine." Ichigo muttered and turned away. He knew the feeling too well.

She smiled sadly. "I know... and you can call me Jazz."

They sat and talked about a lot of the things she'd had bottled up inside for years and most of what he'd held back since his final battle with Aizen. They had even talked about how she was forbidden to be anywhere near soul reapers. He had found that extremely funny for some reason but eventually he had her laughing about it too. Time flew by and even when Ichigo's family returned home, they continued to talk and laugh until her sister texted wanting to know exactly where she was.

They exchanged numbers and she said her goodbyes and rushed back to her house, not even bothering to answer any of Aria's prying questions. Later that night, she lay in her bed, happier than she had been in a long time. She was about to close her eyes and drift off to sleep when her phone vibrated on the nightstand. Opening the message, she smiled.

 ** _From: Ichigo_**

HAD FUN TODAY.

DO IT AGAIN SOON?

SWEET DREAMS, JAZZ.

Ichigo stared at his phone, willing a new text to come in. It had been a while since he had actually spoken to anyone about what it felt like to lose his powers. Jazz had understood. He knew Ishida did too but like most of his friends, he seemed to pity him. He didn't want pity. He hadn't even known he'd needed to talk about everything until it was spilling out of his mouth. She didn't pity him. She was different… and he liked it. His phone finally went off and he couldn't stop the rare smile that tugged at his lips.

 ** _From: Jazz_**

I'D LIKE THAT.

I HAD FUN, TOO.

GOOD NIGHT, ICHIGO.

 **A/N: Aww, Jazz! That went well huh? Now you just need to deal with Ishida… and Aria… and whoever I might throw at you in the next chapter. Sorry.** **L**

 **Please review and tell me what you think? Too much too soon with Jasmine and Ichigo, or not nearly enough? Jasmine's loss of powers, anybody wanna take a guess at how that happened? And what's up with Uryu, anyway? ;-)**


	4. Slow Burn

**A/N: Okay, back on track. I hope. Lol. My computer tried to pull a Houdini with this chapter and I thought it had vanished for good. All I could find was the old version before I revamped the whole thing and the old one doesn't even fit the new storyline! Talk about stressful! Especially since it took everything I had to write this one in the first place and it still isn't exactly the way I wanted it. Writer's block is such a pain in the ass. But yay, I was able to recover it… phew! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER FOUR- SLOW BURN

It was Friday night and there was absolutely nothing to do. Thank the gods! Uryu was tired. No, he was tired this morning. Tonight, he was completely exhausted. Stupid hollows! He slumped on to his bed. He'd barely managed to pull on his pajama pants after his shower and had only rubbed his soaking wet hair with a towel once or twice before abandoning it to the floor. That wasn't like him but he just couldn't be bothered to even remotely be tidy at the moment. He'd sensed Renji's presence earlier and knew that with the red headed Lieutenant around, he could finally afford to get some rest. That's if his damn phone would stop ringing! He rolled begrudgingly off of his bed and prepared himself to tell Chad for the third time that he was fine or Orihime that no, he was definitely not hungry but he noticed the name that lit up on the screen.

"Jazz?" He answered quickly. Instinctively, Uryu started pacing in long strides around his room.

"Hey, you." Jasmine's voice was soft and barely audible.

"Jasmine, I'm really sorry about…

"Listen, about the other night…"

They'd spoken in unison. He went silent, waiting for her to finish. When she didn't, he laughed. He heard her laughing too and allowed the tension in his shoulders to relax a little. He'd almost forgotten how good it was to hear her laugh. She didn't do it often enough anymore.

"I'm sorry, Uryu."

Shaking his head, he strode over to his window, moving the curtain to the side. It was darker than usual this evening. The storm clouds beginning to roll in covered the moon and cast eerie shadows onto the street below. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did." Letting the curtain fall back into place, he took a seat at his desk beside the window.

"No," she said. He could hear the frustration in her voice. "I'm the one who snapped at you first. I don't blame you… for anything." She sighed again. "I'm just way too sensitive about certain things."

Uryu let out an exasperated breath. He glanced at the small frame beside his computer, running a finger over the children in the photograph. He remembered the day it was taken. He smiled, looking at the young girl peeking out from behind his shoulder with a grin so wide it should have split her face. Jazz had been shy even then, but she was so happy. She hadn't been that happy again. Not since she'd lost her father and her powers all in one night. "Look, you are not too sensitive! You have every right to feel the way you do. Maybe I'm just too _insensitive_ sometimes."

"Bite me, Ishida!" she shouted, ringing his eardrums. He almost knocked over the picture frame and dropped the phone. But then he heard her laugh again and he smiled brightly. He didn't think he'd ever tire of that sound. "Can't you just let me apologize without arguing with me?"

"That shouldn't surprise you." He smirked, so relieved that they were talking again. "Oh, I uh, I have something for you." He said, pulling open the desk drawer and retrieving a small round box from inside. He studied its contents for a while before closing the lid again and tying the blue ribbon back around it.

She had stayed quiet for too long and he was about to check if he'd lost the call when she timidly spoke. "Do you wanna come over? I'll unlock the balcony."

Uryu glanced longingly at his comfortable bed, suddenly feeling his exhaustion kicking back in, but decided he wanted to see Jasmine more than he wanted sleep. "I'll be right there."

Jasmine stood on her balcony, leaning her elbows on the railing and resting her head on her hands. She was glad she'd called Uryu. She really had felt guilty about the way she'd treated him. It wasn't his fault that she was so weak. She knew she had a tendency to blame him for things that were out of his control. Truth was, she was jealous. He was still a Quincy. He'd lost his powers before and found a way to gain them back. That was something she'd never been able to do. She just felt so helpless sometimes and when Uryu relied on his other friends for help, it only fueled her jealousy despite how glad she was that he had support.

Looking out at the cloudy night, she found herself staring in the direction of the Kurosaki Clinic. She wondered if Ichigo was home. What was it about that boy that had her thinking of him so often? Well, there was his looks but that wasn't the only reason he had occupied most of her waking thoughts and some of her dreams as well. Maybe it was simply because she was forbidden to speak to him. Was it just because she wanted so badly to rebel against her family? No, it was more than that. She just knew that there was something special about him that had fascinated her since the moment she first saw him. When she learned who his family was, and what he was, it had only strengthened her desire to understand him. Okay, so maybe it was a little stalker-ish, but she had made Uryu tell her every detail Ichigo's battles over and over until she could picture them in her head as clearly as if she'd been there herself. He'd never given up, not even when things looked impossible. He was the savior or Karakura Town, maybe even the world, and only a hand full of people even knew it.

"Hey you. What are you thinking about up there?"

Jasmine jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of Uryu's voice. She looked down to see him below the balcony, one hand on his hip and the other pushing his glasses back up his nose. She smiled and waved him up. He easily scaled the vine covered lattice and gracefully hefted himself over the railing to stand in front of her.

"Took you long enough." she teased before engulfing him in a hug.

Uryu stumbled back at the force of her. She wrapped her arms so tightly around him that he almost had to struggle to breathe. He chuckled and enclosed her in his own arms, gently resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"It's almost like you missed me or something." He said, tickling her sides and reveling in the soft tinkle of laughter.

"I have." She whispered as she released him and took a step back. "I really have."

Uryu could feel the blush starting to dust his cheeks and turned away from her. She'd always had that effect on him. It was never about what she said, but how she said it. Her words, no matter how simple, had so much emotion behind them. They were like arrows that could pierce through the toughest armor. He shook off the thought, and dug the small box out of his back pocket. He straightened the blue ribbon and shakily adjusted the bow. He was starting to have second thoughts, not knowing how she'd react to his gift but it was too late now.

"What's that?" she asked leaning over his shoulder to get a better look.

"It's… well, it's for you." He stammered and handed it to her before he had the chance to change his mind.

Jasmine ran her fingers over the silky ribbon and smiled. She knew the color well. Quincy blue she'd always called it. It reminded her of Uryu's eyes. Her own eyes too she guessed but his always seemed brighter. More full of light. She pulled at the ribbon, untying the bow, and removed the lid of the box. Fresh tears rolled silently down her cheeks as she stared open mouthed at the trinket inside. A silver chain held an intricate five pointed star inlayed with a cross and a dangling circle in the center. Silver on silver, shining even in the cloud covered moon. A sob escaped her throat as she raised it out of the box and held it delicately to her chest.

"This is… oh, Uryu."

"It was your father's. Ryuken saved it. He was a powerful Quincy, but more than that, he was a good man. I know he would have wanted you to have it."

She pulled the necklace she was wearing out from the collar of her shirt and held it in her palm next to the other. It was a simple cross with an even simpler ring of faded silver surrounding its middle. It looked small and dull in comparison to her father's. Uryu helped her with the clasp as she joined the two together around her neck. For the first time in three years, she almost felt complete.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you." Turning and leaning up, she kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and nodded, wiping the tears from her face with his thumbs. "No more tears, okay? Let's go inside before we get soaked." Almost on cue, the rain that had threatened began to pour and lightening flashed across the sky. They both laughed and quickly moved inside and sat on Jasmine's huge king size bed. She laid back on her pillows and propped her legs across Uryu's lap. A position they'd both gotten used to over the years. He gently rubbed her bare feet careful not to touch the bottoms of them. She was desperately ticklish and had a tendency to kick without thinking.

After a long comfortable silence, she finally sat up on her elbows and looked at him with her head slightly cocked to one side. "Uryu… how do you know if… Never mind." She flopped back on to the pillow and sighed. She didn't know how to ask what she wanted to. Most girls could talk to their best friends or their mothers or sisters about things like this. She didn't really have any girl-friends or a mother and she'd die before she talked to Aria. Uryu was all she had but he was a guy and one that was almost as… (How had he put it?) Emotionally constipated… as she was. She giggled at the insult he had thrown at her when they were arguing. She hadn't seen the humor in it till now.

"What's so funny?" Uryu asked climbing up to stretch out on the other side of her. He laid on his side and propped up on an elbow so he could look at Jazz's face.

"Nothing really." She said rolling over to face him.

"Okay… so what were you going to ask me? And don't say it was nothing!"

"Alright, fine." She sat up and leaned against the headboard but not before swinging a pillow in his direction which he dodged. Damn his quick reflexes. "I was going to ask… how you know if you really, you know, like someone. No, not just _like_ but… well…"

"Love?"

"No! I don't know. Maybe." She shifted uncomfortably. Love? That couldn't be right.

"Who exactly are we talking about here?"

"It doesn't really matter. No one. I was just wondering."

Uryu sat up and studied his friend. She'd closed her eyes and seemed to be contemplating something very hard for someone who was 'just wondering'. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly why she was asking and he had a very bad feeling about it. He sighed and skootched a little closer to her. This was not his area of expertise. She apparently hadn't noticed his extreme lack of a love life. All he could do was give his best opinion and hope that it somehow helped.

"I assume it's something that just happens. One day, you wake up and you're just there... in love. You know? Everything you do and think of is suddenly revolving around another person. I guess that's what it's supposed to be like anyway. I've never been in love so I really don't know." He watched her face for a reaction. When the lines of worry faded and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, he didn't know if he should be relieved or panicked. Had he confirmed in her mind that she was falling in love?

Jasmine thought about what Uryu had said. It hadn't been one of his usual know it all speeches. She was a little saddened by the fact that her best friend had never been in love but she hadn't either, really. Sure, she'd had crushes on a few boys here and there when she was younger. She'd even thought that she might love one or two of them that she'd dated before she'd shut down emotionally but that was different from what she was feeling for Ichigo, wasn't it? That had been all butterflies and rainbows and doodling their names all over her notebook. This was… hell, she had no idea what this was. Ichigo Kurosaki was going to drive her mad! Was she really falling in love with him? Just the thought of it made her smile just as much as it terrified her.

"Aww, now isn't this sweet?" Aria announced her presence from the door with a cruel laugh.

Uryu jumped away from Jasmine, startled and unnerved by the tall woman glaring at them with a wicked smile. Jasmine on the other hand, glared right back at her sister. "Don't you ever knock?" she shouted.

Aria ignored her and strode over to the side of the bed, looking Uryu up and down. "Well, at least you have good taste. Next time, tell me when you'll be… entertaining… young Ishida here, won't you?"

"It isn't what you think, Aria." Uryu stated, sliding off the bed to stand in front of the imposing woman. She lifted an eyebrow and smiled even broader. "Isn't it?" she sneered. "It's perfectly alright by me either way but I do need to speak with Jasmine for a moment. Make yourself comfortable… again." She motioned to the bed. Uryu fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew he couldn't be disrespectful to her, for Jazz's sake. She always took her anger out on her little sister. As he sat slowly down on the far edge of the mattress, Aria turned her attention to Jasmine and the smile she'd been sporting slipped away. "Your cousins are in town for a short visit and we are going to have a party in their honor. I expect you to behave appropriately." She said. "Tomorrow night, some of the most important people in Karakura will be here to welcome them. Costumes are required. Find something to wear." Aria began walking back and forth between the door and the bed ticking off the 'requirements' on her fingers.

Jasmine couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked from her sister to Uryu. His expression was unreadable but he caught her eyes and nodded. She had no clue what that meant. Damn him and his stoic nature! Her cousins were here? Shit! Which ones? With all the fanfare Aria was planning, it was probably the twins. That was the worst case scenario. Kasha and Kean Isaka. Her literal worst nightmares, next to her sister of course. They were the elite of what was left of her family. They traveled the world looking for others of their dying race. They had some messed up concept of keeping the bloodlines pure. They believed that young Quincy girls needed to be paired off in old world arranged marriages to keep from 'breeding the race out of existence' as they put it. And Aria bought right into that crap. Kasha and Kean showing up could be a very, very bad sign. Maybe they'd found someone for Aria. Jasmine sent up a silent prayer that that was the case.

"….and Uryu, you and your father are welcome. I will have someone bring an invitation by in the morning." Aria rattled on. "Unless of course, you plan on staying the night. Then you can take it with you after breakfast. Oh, I insist. Ryuken would never forgive me if I let you go out in this weather. Please stay. I'll call and inform him right away." She purred. The sugary sweet tone she'd adopted nearly made him sick at his stomach. He reluctantly nodded in agreement after glancing at the storm raging outside. Ryuken wouldn't care about where Uryu was and Aria knew it but it was just an excuse for that insane woman to call his father. She was ridiculous.

"Good, I'll have some comfortable clothes brought up to you in a moment. Have fun you two!" She said as she exited without even a backwards glance.

"Have fun?" Uryu asked flopping back onto the bed. "What in the hell does she think we were doing? And why in the hell would she be okay with it?" With each word his voice got a little louder while he ran his hands over his face then straightened his glasses.

"I think you know the answer to both of those questions. You know how she is. You're _the young Ishida_." Jasmine said, imitating her sister's venomous tone. "She'd love it if I could make myself fall for you. _Quincy with Quincy, you know. That's the only way to keep the race alive_." She continued to mock.

"Make yourself fall for me? I'm not entirely sure, but I think I'm insulted." Uryu teased, folding his hands behind his head.

Jasmine grinned. "Don't be such a drama queen!" She kicked him lightly in the ribs, "And get off my bed! You're sleeping in the guest room."

 **A/N: This one was a bit slow paced. Sorry. Lots of thoughts and not much action but things are going to pick up pace in the next chapter. It's a costume party! Woo who! Seriously though, what do you think about the addition of new OC's? They are definitely going to put an interesting spin on things. And yes, I know that up until the current arc of the manga, Uryu and Ryuken were the only living Quincies in the plot. That is why I said "cannon-ish" and "slight AU" in my summary. The story takes place in a world where it's known that there are a few other Quincies but not many. I hope you guys don't mind. Review if you have time. Thanks! Love ya'll!**


	5. Fan The Flames

**A/N: Wow, thank you guys so much for all the PM's and views on this! Ya'll are too good to me for reals! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. I'm really sorry about taking a while to update. Real life slapped me across the face last week and I did not appreciate it one bit. I just want to crawl under a table and lose myself in fiction where things make more sense. I hope this chapter isn't too much of an info dump. I know I promised to pick up the pace in this chapter but just bear with me. It'll get moving along soon. Anyway, on to the story!**

CHAPTER FIVE – FAN THE FLAMES

Isshin Kurosaki, the world's most unconventional father, sat in his favorite recliner with one of the most serious looks Ichigo had ever seen on his face. His father was seldom this somber and it was starting to unnerve him. Ichigo was sitting across from him on the sofa and waited for his father to speak. He'd called him down from his room so they could 'have a talk' but he hadn't expected to find the man so out of character. When Isshin was so serious, it wasn't usually a good sign.

"Ichigo, my son. I've been meaning to talk to you about your new friend." Isshin started without looking up at his son. "Jasmine Isaka… what do you know about her?"

"I… nothing. I mean, what's this about?" Ichigo mumbled, a little confused as to why his father was so concerned about Jazz.

"Just answer the question, son. What do you know about her?"

He sighed, knowing that Isshin wouldn't be asking without good reason. "She's really sweet and shy, she's friends with Ishida, she has a scary overbearing sister, and she's… she's a Quincy but she lost her powers." Ichigo spit out the last part quickly even though he knew that it was the only part his father had been waiting to hear.

Isshin nodded then stood to his full height and moved to stand in front of Ichigo. "She's more than that. I want you to listen to me, son. If you choose to get involved with this girl, there are things about her you should know. She's the youngest of what's left of her family which makes her the most cherished. There are only a few Quincy families still living in this world and hers is among the strongest. They are practically royalty, Ichigo, and they're very protective of their heirs."

"Okay, so I'll be careful not to piss them off." Ichigo said half-heartedly, trying to wrap his head around what his father had told him.

"It's not that simple. She lost her powers trying to protect someone. She went up against a hollow with the ability to steal a person's reiatsu. She was only 14 at the time and she was already a strong Quincy but immature and she got in over her head. Her father tried to save her and he was killed by the hollow. She's probably never forgiven herself for that and her family has never forgiven the man she was trying to protect. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you, son?" Isshin was squatting now, hand on both of Ichigo's knees, looking directly into his eyes.

"Dad…" Ichigo stammered as realization hit. "Who was it? Who was she trying to save?" He had to know if he was assuming the worst possible answer even though he didn't really want to hear it. Isshin stood again and turned his back to Ichigo, reaching instinctively to his shirt pocket for the absent pack of cigarettes that hadn't been there for years. He flexed his fingers before letting his hand settle back at his side. "It was me. She was protecting me. It was the damnedest thing." He let out a horse chuckle. "This young kid appearing out of nowhere with one of the biggest spirit bows I'd ever seen. I was helpless to do anything against that ugly beast and there she was, same age as my own child, fighting with everything she had to save a complete stranger."

Ichigo was aimlessly wondering the streets of Karakura Town when his friends caught up with him. Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro had been out trying (and failing) to find a new restaurant that Keigo had sworn was the best in town. Spotting their friend, they halted their adventure and were now in the process of trying to find the reason behind his obviously dark mood.

"So what's the deal Ichigo?" Keigo all but screamed waving his hand wildly in front of Ichigo's face earning him a swift kick to the nose.

"Nothing." Ichigo muttered stepping over Keigo who was now rolling around on the ground complaining about his unfair treatment.

"I wouldn't say it was nothing, judging by the look on your face. You're not usually happy, but this is just… Oh, well. If you don't want to talk about it…" Mizuiro said walking next to Ichigo.

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it. I just… can't. You understand, right?" he stopped to look at his friend then at Chad and Keigo trailing behind him.

"Sure we understand!" Keigo chimed. "It's about a girl, isn't it? You don't want to make us jealous that you've been spending all your time with a chick instead of hanging out with us. Am I right?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and leaned up against the side of the building they were passing. "I wish it was that simple." He said to no one in particular.

Chad studied him for a moment. Was Ichigo's foul mood really about a girl? That wasn't like him at all. "Ichigo…?" he inquired quietly. He wasn't sure what it was he wanted to ask but Ichigo seemed to read his expression well enough.

"I don't know Chad. I like this girl. I mean, I REALLY like her, but her family and my family… we don't exactly see eye to eye on things. Ya know?" It felt strange to be discussing such a typical teenage thing like girl problems with Chad. In the last few years most of their conversations had been about new threats to the lives of humanity. He'd almost forgotten how to have a normal discussion with his friends.

Mizuiro leaned up against the wall next to him and waved a dismissive hand. "Alas, that love, so gentle in his view should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!"

Ichigo choked back a laugh. "Romeo and Juliet?" He asked.

"Cliff notes version. It seemed to fit the situation." Mizuiro added absently. "All I'm saying is, Love sucks and it looks like you've found that out the hard way."

"I didn't say that I love her." Ichigo retorted. He pointed up to the sign above the building before entering the door. Apparently, they'd found the illusive restaurant by accident. His friends followed him in and they took their seats in a corner booth.

"Look, just forget about her, whoever she is. We've got the whole weekend to hang out, just us guys!" Keigo cheered drawing looks from the restaurant's other patrons.

Ichigo sighed and folded his arms on the table and buried his face in them. How was he supposed to just forget about Jasmine? After everything Isshin had told him, he liked her even more than he had before. She was brave and honest. She sacrificed herself to save his father and she'd been dealing with the guilt of her own father's death. A guilt that he could understand all too well. She obviously didn't recognize Isshin when she'd met him the other night. Did she even remember who it was she'd sacrificed so much for?

A man dressed in a nice suit, probably expensive from what he could tell, pulled Ichigo from his thoughts when he walked up to their table and cleared his throat. "Mizuiro Kojima?" The man asked and Mizuiro raised his hand a little and nodded. "I've been looking for you all day!" He cleared his throat again. "You and your chosen guests are cordially invited to my lady's house tonight for dinner and dancing, costumes required. Please deliver this to your family." The man handed him a fancy looking envelope and bowed low before rushing off.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked eying the envelope in Mizuiro's hand. "That was weird."

"Not really. Happens all the time." He said very nonchalantly as he opened the invitation. "Masquerade Ball hosted by Miss Aria Isaka at her residence, blah, blah, blah. Yada yada… Well, how 'bout it boys? Feel like going to a masquerade?"

This was a terrible idea. Ichigo knew it before he'd even agreed to go. Yet here he was dressed in the best costume he could come up with on such short notice. It wasn't much but it would have to do. He was wearing his white skinny jeans and had secured them with a black belt with a silver cross buckle. If he was going to infiltrate the Quincy lair, he might as well try to fit in. He pulled on a red v neck tee shirt and a white hooded jacket. He glared at his reflection in the mirror on his closet door. That damn orange hair of his made him stick out like a sore thumb. Jasmine's crazy sister would spot him right away like this. He pulled the hood of the jacket up over his head but it didn't do much good. His bangs still stuck out wildly and his white ensemble only made their color look even brighter. He quickly looked around the room for anything useful. He came up with a white and red stocking cap and pulled it over his head, tucking in all the stray hair, then pulling the hood back over his head. There. That would have to do.

He walked over to his bed and grabbed the mask Mizuiro had given him to wear. A shiver ran over his spine as he slipped it into place. Glancing back in the mirror, he was struck by the similarity it bore to his hollow mask back when only half of it would appear when his inner hollow would take over in the midst of battle. The mask he wore now was stark white, only covering the left half his face. It had distinct red markings that ran in thin lines from under and above his eye to the side of his cheek and up onto his forehead. The only differences between his hollow mask and this one were the lack of the bottom half that should have stretched into a permanent grin, and this one had a long white and red curled horn protruding from where it sat against his temple. He fought the urge to yank the damned thing off. Where the hell did Mizuiro get this creepy ass thing at anyway?

He walked down stairs and to his front door where he found his friends waiting for him. They all stood in silence for a moment, staring at him, before busting into hysterical laughter. "Ichigo… you look like a demonic bleached out cat burglar." Keigo snorted holding his sides. Even Chad had cracked a smile. "Maybe if you get rid of the beany." His large friend choked out, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Fine!" Ichigo huffed, ripping it off his head and straightening his hair before throwing the hood up again. "But if we get caught crashing this party because of my hair, I'm blaming it all on you guys! Let's go!"

Mizuiro chuckled a little but clapped Ichigo on the shoulder as they walked down the street. "You look good, man. Really scary actually. Don't worry about it."

Jasmine stood at the top of the stairs looking down at all the strangers flooding into her house. She was on pins and needles. Her home was usually the one place she could be herself. It was her sanctuary away from the world but tonight she had nowhere to hide.

"Quite the shindig, eh cousin?" The deceptively honey-smooth voice of her cousin, Kean, purred against her ear. She spun around and eyed him suspiciously. He probably looked to all the world like a fairytale prince (which was basically what his costume was). Even his piercing blue eyes and long wavy blonde hair added to the illusion. The sharp features of his too handsome face had an air of authority and physically made Jasmine cringe under his steady gaze. She knew he was anything but Prince Charming.

Standing to his right was his twin sister, Kasha. There were no illusions with her. She was beautiful and she knew it. With her long legs, curvy body, and hair and eyes that matched her brother's, she reminded Jasmine of a Barbie doll. She had donned a costume fitting her wicked personality in a black mockery of an angel's gossamer dress complete with dark charcoal devil horns atop her head. She smiled deviously at Jasmine.

"Well, aren't you just beautiful tonight?" She cooed. "But, little Ju'oh, what's this?" She pulled on the blood red ribbon tied around Jasmine's waist.

Jasmine lowered her face, unable to find an answer. She'd always loved the color but was usually forbidden to wear it. The small ribbon was the only color on her simple white lace knee-length dress. She'd known it was a mistake when she'd put it on, but her rebellious side had kicked in at the last minute. She was now wishing she'd chosen a more elaborate masquerade mask so that it would better hide her face instead of the unadorned white lace one that fit just around her eyes.

Kasha's haughty laugh echoed through the large room below as she and Kean descended the stairs. "How will we ever find a perfect match for her? She's hopeless!"

"Don't fret, Sister." Kean's voice flitted back up the stairs. "Aria has it all under control."

Jasmine's stomach tightened at the thought of her sister having anything to do with her crazy cousins' plans to marry her off to the 'perfect Quincy'. Damn it! This night was getting worse by the minute. "Gods, help me." She muttered, before collapsing down, very unladylike, on the top step and leaning against the banister. When Uryu slid down beside her, she jolted and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't sneak up on people like that!" she snapped, "and what the hell are you wearing?"

He grunted an apology and looked down at his full Dracula garb. "What? It's a costume. I made it myself."

She rolled her eyes, and laughed. It was a good costume. She should have known he'd done all the sewing himself. After an awkward few moments of silence, she leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I don't know what to do, Uryu."

"About what?"

She thought long and hard about her response. "Everything… Aria and the twin demons are determined to have me matched up before I turn 18. You know how they are. I've always just accepted that because I never thought I'd really be able to get close enough to anyone to fall in love, anyway."

"And now…?"

"Now, I'd rather rip my heart out than to be with anyone but…"

Uryu's chest constricted, waiting for the name he knew was going to fall from her lips. _Please don't say Kurosaki! Please don't say it!_

"Ichigo…"

Well, shit. Uryu felt her lift her head of his shoulder as his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. "Jazz, how can you be sure you feel that way about Kurosaki? I mean you've barely spoken maybe a hundred words to the guy. Aria will lose her shit! Besides that, he's just... just…"

Jasmine looked at her friend, completely stunned by his reaction. She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him as he stuttered. "Uryu, he's just what? Besides, that isn't what I meant. Look. He's here."

She looked to the entryway and Uryu followed her gaze to where a group of guys, all dressed in costumes varying from Zorro to a court jester, had just entered. He instantly recognized the larger than life Zorro as Chad, the knight in literal shining armor as Mizuiro, and even through ridiculously wild face paint and the bright colored costume he could distinguish Keigo as the jester. The guy standing a few steps behind them was the one that had grabbed Jasmine's attention though and Uryu could plainly see why. The sight of that mask brought back disturbing memories Uryu would rather have forgotten. If that wasn't enough for him to recognize Ichigo Kurosaki, the spikes of bright orange hair sticking out from under his white fur-lined hood would have been.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Uryu stood to his feet pulling Jasmine up with him. "We can't let Aria see him. She'll cut off his head and serve it to the guests for dinner!" He glanced at Jasmine and noticed the panic in her eyes. She'd been so happy to see him before that she hadn't even realized the problem he was causing just by being here. For reasons he wasn't even sure of, he hated that his best friend was falling for the orange-haired nuisance but he wanted to see her happy. If Ichigo was the one who could do that, then so be it, but he made a secret vow to himself right then and there that if Kurosaki hurt Jazz in any way, he'd be the one to have his head on a platter!

She was seriously worried now. Uryu was right. Aria may not cut his head off, but her hatred of Ichigo was very widely known and who knows what she might actually do if she saw him. Jasmine couldn't just let him walk around and risk it. "Uryu, go grab him! Take him outside to the gardens. I'll meet you there!" she said, practically pushing him down the stairs. Moving as fast as she could without drawing suspicion, she went back to her room, flung open the balcony door, and quickly descended the lattice. "Please don't let anyone see him!" She prayed as she snuck to the darkest corner of the elaborate gardens that took up more than half of her back yard.

 **A/N: Welp, leaving it there for now. Sorry. I'm going to try and finish chapter 6 within the next couple of days and post it to make up for being late with this one. Just a little warning. There may be lemony good stuff in one of the next couple of chapters. Not terribly sure just yet. Thank you guys for taking the time to read this far. I didn't really plan on this one being very long but it seems that Jasmine has a mind of her own and she's not ready to let me end her story so abruptly. Lol. I think this is pretty close to the half way point but we'll see what happens. Review if you have time and tell me what ya think about Kean and Kasha. Thanks again! Love Ya'll!**


	6. Ignite

**A/N: Just wanted to say a quick thank you to ukitakeitalialover041757 for the review. Thanks so much! I'm glad you like the story so far. I hope it doesn't disappoint you from now on. Lol. I've been a little distracted lately and haven't really been writing on this one much but I woke up this morning and felt like Jazz and Ichigo were mentally beating me up for ignoring them so here we go! Oh and before I forget… Any of you that like my "Dark" series, I've been playing around with the idea for the third instalment and it's turned into a monster of a story. So, I feel like my nameless OC should get a name. Poor girl. She's been neglected. Anyway, I have a poll up on my profile. Go check it out and vote on what you think her name should be. Thanks again for all the love and support. On with the story!**

CHAPTER SIX – IGNITE

Aria looked out over the crowd of the grand hall and smiled. It was a grand turn out. All of the most important people Karakura Town had shown up, just as she had expected. And to top all of that, she was being escorted by one of the most influential (not to mention handsome and rich) men she'd ever met, Ryuken Ishida. If she could just get her hooks in deep enough, it wouldn't even matter if her imbecilic sister was officially the heir to the Isaka family. Why did it fall to the youngest child, anyway? It was a stupid tradition that their family had clung to for generations. It wasn't fair at all but if everything worked out the way Aria had planned, she'd be sure to join their households one way or another.

"Ryuken, thank you so much for coming. I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me to have you here." She said as sweetly as she could.

"Thank you for the invitation, Miss Isaka." Ryuken stated stiffly, scanning the room as if searching for a quick exit.

"Oh no, please call me Aria. No need for formalities." She turned to see her twin cousins approaching and beamed. "Ryuken, you must remember my cousins, Kean and Kasha. I'm sure they remember you."

"Yes, I remember."

"Mr. Ishida, it's a _pleasure_ to see you again." Kasha crooned as she took the arm Aria wasn't clinging to and smiled. Ryuken nodded in response.

"Will you two let the man breathe? Come, Mr. Ishida. Let's go see if we can find ourselves a drink, shall we?" Kean interjected ignoring the glares from the two women.

"That's the best idea I've heard all night." Ryuken mumbled, shaking off the death grips on his arms and following Kean.

Suddenly Aria's expression changed from slight annoyance to full on rage as she looked past her cousin to the room's entrance. Uryu Ishida was there, chastising a boy dressed in white then he grabbed him by the arm and was trying to drag him from the house. In the commotion, the boy's hood slipped back off his head just a little but more than enough for Aria to spot the obnoxiously bright tuffs of orange. "Kurosaki." She growled as Kasha turned to see what she was looking at.

"That can't be. He's just a boy." Kasha remarked.

"That is Isshin Kurosaki's son. I've already caught him nosing around once. What is he doing here?" Aria whispered to Kasha. That little shit! At least the Ishida boy was trying to make him leave. It was a relief to know someone around here had some sense. She couldn't wait to tell Jasmine that she was trying to arrange her match with Uryu already. He may not be the "perfect" pure blood Quincy that the rest of the family thought their little queen deserved, but hell! He was powerful and the last of his family line. Her sister didn't even deserve that much after losing her powers the way she did. Saving a helpless ex-soul reaper! What a bunch of shit! She had let their father die because of Isshin Kurosaki, and Aria had no intention of forgiving either one of them for it. But now was not the time for showing her temper. She had appearances to keep up in front of her guests. She'd let it go… for now.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Uryu snapped as he grabbed Ichigo by the arm and pulled him outside. "You're a moron, Kurosaki! You have no understanding of just how insane it is for you to be here!"

"Let go of me! I understand more than you think." Ichigo stood against the wall smoothing out the wrinkles caused by Ishida's tugging around on him. "Listen, man. I know why Jazz's family hates me and I know why you're so protective of her. I'm not going to hurt her and I won't get caught here. I just… I just want to see her." He admitted to his friend, looking him straight in the eye.

Uryu sighed. "If you cause her pain in any way, I _will_ kill you." He paused, waiting for his warning to sink in then turned and started to walk away. "Come on, she's waiting for you. And take off that damned mask. You're giving me the creeps."

Ichigo slowly followed. "You're one to talk, Count Freakiness." He mumbled as he slid the mask off his face.

Jasmine paced along the far garden wall in the shadows, keeping her eyes locked on the toes of her shoes as she kicked at the rocks on the path. She hadn't thought this little plan of hers through and now she was starting to have one of her classic freak-outs. Ichigo would be out here soon and she wasn't sure she knew what to say to him. It was easy to talk in the privacy of his room but her previous bravado was fading quickly with the thought that her sister might see them together. He'd probably even want to know why she'd had him escorted out of her house. What the hell was she supposed to say? This wasn't such a good idea. Maybe she should have just told Uryu to send Ichigo home. No, she really didn't want that. She wanted to see him despite the nerves twisting her insides. One week ago, she would have been running for cover at the sight of Ichigo Kurosaki and now, here she was arranging secret meetings in the dark with him. The urge to bolt was steadily rising in her mind but as she looked up to find a safe hiding spot, she found herself staring into deep brown eyes and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

"Ichigo…hey, I…"

Before another word left her lips, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him in a tight embrace. She was stunned into silence and stood there, letting him hold her for what seemed like forever until Uryu cleared his throat from behind them.

"If you don't mind, I'm going back inside. I'll be back in ten minutes. Kurosaki, it won't be in anyone's best interests if you stay any longer than that." He stated coldly then turned and walked back toward the sound of slow jazz and distant laughter drifting from the house.

"Well… that wasn't awkward." Ichigo muttered under his breath. "So, come here often?" he asked sliding a finger under Jazz's chin and tilting her face up to look at him. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lip and he could see she was trying not to laugh at his lame sense of humor.

Jasmine felt the heat of a blush surfacing in her cheeks and tried to no avail to take deep calming breaths. She finally gave up on calm and jumped straight into full-fledged embarrassment when she realized how close her lips were to Ichigo's. "I… uh… I'm sorry about all of this. My family… they kind of, well, they hate you. I don't understand why." She turned her face away, breaking eye contact so that she could put together some kind of coherent thought. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Just one actually." He whispered into her ear as he traced the edges of her lace mask with his fingertips. He didn't want to stop himself from touching her anymore. Ichigo was acting on some primal urge as he brought his lips gently down to her temple and kissed her there. "Do you remember my father?"

Her breath caught in her chest and she wound both hands in the fabric of his jacket and pulled him close before his words registered fully. "Your father?" she asked breathlessly, turning her head back to face him. Her head was spinning. Why would he bring up his father at a time like this when all she could think about was his hands that were now trailing little circles down her bare shoulders, on to her back, then intertwining behind her to hold her more securely against him. An inkling of a memory was stirring in the back of her mind but she couldn't concentrate just now, when his lips where barely an inch from hers and she wanted nothing more than to know how they would feel against her own.

He nodded in response to the question she had nearly forgotten about asking. "Yes, do you remember anything about him before meeting him at my house?"

"No… I mean, yes… maybe a little. Why?" By the Gods, she couldn't even speak properly. Why wouldn't he just stop talking and kiss her already? Couldn't he see how much he was torturing her?

"Jazz, I need you to remember." Ichigo sighed desperately. He wanted to close the gap between their faces and kiss her till she begged him to stop, but he had to know that if she remembered who his father was, that she wouldn't hate him, too. He wanted everything out in the open, with no secrets between them. He'd had enough secrets kept from him in his life. He couldn't let that be the case with Jasmine. He decided it'd be best if he just came out with it, helped her fill in the blanks of an obviously forgotten memory. Here goes nothing. "Isshin Kurosaki… my father… is the man you saved the night you lost your powers."

The memory slammed into her mind of a man being attacked by a hollow. She held instinctively to Ichigo for support as her knees grew weak. She'd barely even looked back at the man that night. She'd just called over her shoulder at him to run as a sharp whip-like talon ripped into her side. When her father had shown up, she remembered him calling out to her, telling her to get away… to take the man and run as fast as she could but it had been too late. She had felt her power and her consciousness fading. It was excruciating. It was like burning alive and freezing and being ripped apart all at the same time. She had fallen to her knees and was trying to claw her way back to the man she had tried so hard to save but she never made it. She'd looked up at the man. Isshin… she remembered him. She remembered Ichigo's father rushing to her and pulling her to safety. His face had been the last thing she'd seen before darkness consumed her.

The sudden rush of memory shook Jasmine to the core. How had she forgotten? That's why Aria and the rest of her family hated the Kurosaki's so much. They blamed him for her father's death and for her losing her powers. No, this was too much to take in. She and Ichigo could never be together. They'd never allow it. Her body began to shake violently.

"Whoa, Its okay. Jazz, hey… look at me." Ichigo held her tight and looked deep into her blue eyes that were now dark as storm clouds and glistening with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Jasmine. I really am. If… you want me to go, I will. I just thought you should know. I understand if you hate me now." He explained. He hated that he had brought such a painful time in her life to the surface of her mind. She surely hated him. She hadn't even said a word to him since he's revealed the truth. He'd promised not to hurt her and that's exactly what he'd done. He would walk out of her life tonight despite ripping out his own heart in the process. He'd do anything to banish the pain etched in her eyes.

"Don't!" She exhaled hoarsely. "Don't go. Oh Ichigo, I couldn't hate you if I tried. She reached with shaking hands and ran her fingers through his hair and laced her fingers behind his neck. "Please… please don't go."

The sound of the music and loud voices from inside grew distant. Everything around Jasmine seemed to fade away and the boy in front of her was the only other person in the world. As he leaned closer she closed her eyes and felt his lips gently graze hers. They were warm and soft but strong and so distinctly… Ichigo. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss and she felt his tongue tracing the crease of her lips before slowly pushing inside. She'd been kissed before, but never like this. Never had she felt like she was the center of the universe. That's what Ichigo's kiss made her feel. Like she could forget everything else in her whole miserable existence and live only through his touch. And she would live. She would be with Ichigo. Thoughts of Aria and the evil twins flitted away between soft moans and caressing touches.

Ichigo didn't want to end the kiss. Everything that was unique about Jasmine assailed his senses. Her tropical scent, her cool silky skin, even the soft curls of her hair that tickled his face in the breeze. And her lips. He could get lost in those delicate pale lips but air was becoming a necessity. He grudgingly pulled away and watched her eyes flutter open. The way she looked at him with those dark sapphires full of hunger had him capturing her mouth again, breathing be damned!

Footsteps approaching on the gravel path made him pull back slightly only to be grabbed again and with their lips never parting, Jasmine spun them around behind a tree, out of sight and pushed him up against it. She ran her fingers up and under his tee shirt and splayed both hands open against his bare chest. Every inch of him she touched was burning, as she ignited a fire deep with in him. He pulled away at last, and gasped for air. He laughed breathlessly against her lips. "And here I thought you were shy." She blushed bright crimson and he ran his fingers over the warm skin of her cheeks.

"Jazz?" Uryu called in a hushed tone from a few feet away and Jasmine suppressed a giggle as Ichigo whipped her around to press her against the trunk of the tree he had just been leaning on. He pressed a finger gently to her lips and signaled her to be quiet as he trailed kisses down her neck and across her collarbone.

"Jasmine Isaka! I know you two are out here. I can feel your…" Wait, Uryu thought about what he was feeling but it didn't make any sense. What the hell was going on here? "Jazz… we need to talk." He whispered nearly to himself. He should not be sensing what he thought he had. It was faint, but there it was. No mistaking it now as it rolled out at him in waves.

Jasmine wriggled away from Ichigo the moment she felt it. A slight tingle of awareness. Something she couldn't put her finger on. It was… No. It couldn't be. She was feeling… "Uryu?" She called, stepping out from the shadows. "What… What's happening?" She reached to the side and took Ichigo by the hand and he stepped out with her, clearly confused by the panic stricken faces of both Jasmine and Uryu.

"I don't know. But if I felt it, your family will too. We have to get him out of here before they come looking for the source." He said eying Ichigo then letting his gaze linger on their interlaced fingers before leveling Jasmine with a hard look. "You need to go inside. We'll figure this all out later."

"Wait a minute, Ishida. What's going on, dammit?" Ichigo sputtered. He didn't like the way any of this sounded. And he didn't like leaving Jazz to deal with whatever it was alone.

Jasmine nodded to Uryu, and turned and tiptoed up and kissed Ichigo lightly on the lips. "Come back later tonight. The balcony door on the right side of the house. That's my bedroom." She whispered. "I'll text you when Aria goes to sleep." And after a teasing smile and a deep passionate kiss, she turned and followed Uryu inside, leaving a stunned open mouthed Ichigo in her wake.

 **A/N: So, what'd ya think? Poor Ichigo huh? Sorry if this chapter started off kinda funky. I'm trying to get past being in a little bit of a funk myself. I know where I'm going with the story but it's the getting there that's the problem. If any of you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to PM me or leave them in the review section. I love hearing from everyone. I just now (like literally two seconds ago LOL) got a new story follow so I want to take a minute to thank my new story follower and fave, superdios. Along with AliceLovesCakes, hardoraku, and ukitakeitalialover041757 for their story follows and faves as well. And of course thank you for the nearly 200 views on this story! Once my view count on all my stories reaches… hmm, let's say, 1,000, I have a special story to upload for everyone in celebration! Don't forget that many of the people I've listed here and in my other author's notes have stories of their own so go check them out. And share the love! Love ya'll!**


	7. Wildfire

**A/N: One upload right the day after another? Let's call it an apology for getting way off schedule. So how'd you guys feel about the last chapter? Yep, more mystery about Jasmine's powers. You never know what I'm gonna throw at you, or maybe you do... I felt like things were getting a little too predictable so I** _ **tried**_ **to add a little more intrigue. Let's see if you can figure out what's going on with her now. Make your guesses in the review section or PM me if you have the time. I love hearing from you guys. If you guess right, I'll definitely give you a shout out in the next chapter. Well, after the mystery is revealed, anyway. Don't want spoilers now, do we? A little OOC warning here. Ryuken is one of my favorite characters in Bleach but I needed his physician side to show more than his "Uryu's father" side and since we don't really see his doctor role very often, I just had to wing it. Sorry if it's too much for you guys. Anyway, on with the story. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER SEVEN – WILDFIRE

Something wasn't right. Uryu felt it in the depths of his soul. Not only had the strange reiatsu made a sudden appearance, but it was currently assaulting him in unsteady vibrant waves. It was definitely Jasmine's. He had recognized it the moment he had felt it in the garden. She'd always had unique spiritual pressure. It used to feel like something between a warm summer day and cool spring wind. A comfortable and inviting sensation. But just now, as she pushed past him and sauntered into the house like she didn't have a care in the world, it was radiating. It was as if her reiatsu had exploded out of her and created a devastating heat that pulsed and hummed off the surface of her skin.

Even her attitude was different. Uryu watched as she walked up to Kean and Ryuken with a confident stride and smiled radiantly. He rushed to her side as awareness dawned on her cousin and his father. Their looks of confusion mirrored his own as it seemed like she pushed the full force of her new power at the two of them. Kean opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Jazz's angelic laugh. "Don't look so shocked, dear cousin. You didn't think I'd stay helpless forever did you?"

Ryuken narrowed his eyes then glanced at Uryu. "What is the meaning of this? How is this possible?"

"I wish I knew." Uryu stated simply.

"Does it really matter how it happened? I'm back to normal. Isn't anyone going to be happy for me?" Jasmine nearly shrieked. Her head was beginning to hurt and the world felt like it was spinning. She stumbled a little and Ryuken steadied her with one strong hand. "Her spiritual pressure is leaking like a sieve. Whatever was holding it back before has clearly cracked. She needs to regain control of it, quickly."

Jazz shook her head. Ryuken's words didn't make sense. Her head was pounding now and she couldn't quite process the thought. Her powers hadn't been held back. They were gone, completely drained from her. But now she could feel them coursing through her, stronger than they ever were. She felt elated, on top of the world, like nothing could touch her! The room spun wickedly again and she felt like her feet couldn't hold her anymore. She grasped her head and moaned. "What's… what's happening?"

Uryu quickly caught her as her knees gave way and hauled her up into his arms, bridal style, just as Aria and Kasha rushed over to them.

"What the hell is going on?" Aria demanded as a small crowd started to gather around them. Hushed voices began to whisper and guests were pointing and staring in their direction as she fumed.

"It seems our Jasmine has had a little too much sake tonight! The young Ishida here was just about to carry her to bed, isn't that right?" Kean announced in a theatrically loud voice. Several guests chuckled and others turned and began to disperse. He leaned in close to Aria. "Our little Ju'oh is about to reclaim her crown, cousin. Isn't that something?" He whispered. Aria's mouth dropped open as she watched Uryu toting her sister up the stairs to her room with Ryuken following behind him.

She'd felt the surge in reiatsu and knew it felt familiar, but it never occurred to her that it was coming from Jasmine. That was impossible. Aria knew that better than anyone else. "Damn it! How did this happen? What did you do?" She hissed at Kean.

"Me? I did nothing. She just waltzed in here like that, like she owned the place. Which technically, now I suppose she does." He laughed coldly. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear cousin. I suppose she doesn't yet. Not until she turns eighteen. That gives you… what is it? Two months?" He busted out into hysterical laughter this time, doubling over and holding his stomach.

Kasha shot him a meaningful glare. "You dumb ass! This isn't funny! With Jasmine regaining her powers, she'll be the official head of our family! Do you really think she'll let us continue our little escapades around the world once she realizes how much of the family fortune we've been spending?"

Kean immediately regained his composure. "We aren't the only one's blowing money! Just look at this party! Spared no expense, huh Aria?"

"Stop it! Both of you! We just have to think rationally here. The problem at hand is Jasmine's powers. Without them, she cannot rightfully be head of the family." Aria stated trying to calm her cousins as well as herself.

"Well, it's a little late for that line of thinking, isn't it? Did you not feel that tidal wave of spiritual pressure just now?" Kasha barked harshly trying to run her fingers through her hair. When the fake devil horns got in the way, she ripped them off her head and threw them to the floor.

"We've dealt with this before. We'll deal with it again. It's simple, really. Completely fool proof." Aria thought out loud.

Kean snatched her by the arm and growled low in her ear. "Fool proof? Forgive me if I don't believe you this time, Aria."

Uryu laid Jazz down on her bed as gently as he could and watched her continue to groan and writhe in pain. He didn't know what to do for her. He turned to Ryuken, who was standing quietly at the foot of the bed. His father ignored his questioning look and slowly walked to the other side of the bed.

"Jasmine, can you hear me?" Ryuken asked softly. Jazz moaned but nodded her head slowly. "Good, I need you to listen carefully. Your spiritual pressure is pouring out of you at an alarming rate because it has been suppressed for so long. It's like a dam with a crack in it and the water keeps pushing at the crack until it creates a massive hole to pour from. Do you understand?"

Jasmine didn't understand. She barely heard Ryuken through the pain ripping through her. It was like an atomic bomb had went off inside her skull. She strained and caught a few calming words. "…suppressed… a dam… massive hole…" Okay, yeah. That sounded like what she felt. She nodded again.

"Alright, Jasmine, I want you to breathe. In through your nose. Good… now hold it. Out through your mouth. Good. Again, in… hold it, and out. You're doing fine. Now, continue to breathe but concentrate on visualizing the flow of power." Ryuken spoke in soothing tones as he watched Jasmine's chest rise and fall with each breath. She was starting to calm down but he could still feel the radiating reiatsu leaking out of her at a more extreme pace than before and as a Quincy, she was unconsciously pulling in reishi with each intake of air, converting it into even more power. More than her body could withstand. It was a very dangerous situation and if she did not get it under control, he feared that she would not make it through this.

Jazz took in deep breaths as instructed and felt her body begin to still, despite the rippling heat that scorched through her. It felt like someone had poured lava into her veins and it was burning her from the inside out. She concentrated and Ryuken's voice. She did her best to picture the flow of power in her mind. It was hard at first but soon she moved past the pain and saw the raging current of her own spiritual pressure. She was in awe of the bright blue and white volcanic eruption being held back by a wall that was quickly crumbling as more and more power flowed in behind it. "Okay… okay I see it." She gritted out through clenched teeth, fighting through the pain and holding on to the vision.

"That's good. Now remember your training. Think about what Oren taught you. Control the intake of reishi and ebb the flow of power."

Oren… her father. Jasmine thought of when she was younger when he had taught her how to control and hide her spiritual pressure. She could do this, she took a deep cleansing breath and focused on the stream of light that flowed into her. She was absorbing reishi. As soon as the realization hit her she was able to stop the flow. She let out the breath she'd been holding and moved on to the surging waves that were slamming against the barrier. With another inhale she centered herself and mentally pushed the waves back away from the wall. She envisioned the last of it crumbling away but instead of suddenly releasing the reiatsu she held at bay, she slowly let it trickle back into place and settle throughout her body until it calmed and stilled with the slow exhale that left her parted lips.

As Uryu felt her reiatsu calm, he exhaled with her. He hadn't even realized he'd been doing the breathing exercises along with Jasmine and his father until just then. Relief flooded him. That was close, too close. Jasmine's eyes slowly opened and fastened first on Ryuken and then on him. She looked so calm now. No traces of pain were left. He felt his heart nearly collapse in his chest. He'd been so terrified. "Hey, you." He spoke softly, sitting beside her on the bed.

"Hey back." She smiled lightly. She reached and took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Me, worried? Of course not. But I think you scared the piss out of Aria and the twin nightmares." He said with a light laugh.

Jasmine laughed a little then her smile faded as she looked over to Ryuken. "What just happened? And why did I act like such an idiot down stairs?" She asked, praying the man she now viewed as her savior would have some answers.

"I'm not entirely sure just yet. Your father was one of my oldest and dearest friends, and as Oren Isaka's daughter, I believe you deserve an explanation. I will get to the bottom of this but what you need now is rest. Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything." Ryuken gave her an uncharacteristic pat on the head and a strained smile, then turned and existed the room. Just outside the door, he was heard giving muffled instructions to who was presumably Aria and the twins that Jasmine needed uninterrupted rest.

After what seemed like hours later, after the party downstairs had finally died down and the last of the guests had trickled out, Uryu left Jasmine. He had assumed she was asleep. He'd assumed wrong. She laid as still as possible with her eyes closed, listening to the creaks and groans of the empty house. Aria was gone. She knew that for sure. She smiled to herself when she realized that she'd actually been able to sense her sister leaving with Kean and Kasha. No doubt, she had left in a panic to discuss Jasmine's current condition. Not that she cared about her wellbeing. Jazz knew that Aria only cared about how this would affect her inheritance. The three of them were probably off scheming something which made her more than a little on edge.

She needed to find out exactly what had happened to her powers three years ago. She'd always thought that they were drained by the hollow, but Ryuken had said they had been suppressed. Who or what had done that? How was something like that even possible? She knew of one possible person to ask but it was a stretch to presume that he would know. The way Uryu had always spoken of the eccentric shop keeper made him sound like he had the answers to every problem so it was worth a shot. She would go to Kisuke Urahara's shop and ask for his help. But not tonight. She had other things to deal with first. Well, one other thing. Her stomach did summersaults as she pulled out her phone and texted Ichigo that she was finally alone. Her phone rang almost immediately and he asked her if she was alright. She smiled and jumped out of bed, throwing the balcony door open and stepping outside.

"I'm fine. It's hard to explain. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." She said leaning on the railing and looking toward the Kurosaki Clinic. "Tonight, I just want to be with you." Her voice was shaking, but she didn't hesitate. She wanted him to hold her like he had in the gardens. Jazz wanted it more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life. She could almost hear the smile in his voice when he said he would be there soon.

Ichigo hung up the phone and tiptoed down the steps and out his front door. His hands were sweating as he pulled the door closed behind him. His was beyond nervous. He'd been pacing a rut in his bedroom since he had made it home and he hadn't been able to get his mind off of the way Jazz's lips had felt on his. Minutes had passed by like hours, and hours felt like days. He'd never been so frustrated in his life! Of course, teenage hormones were playing a big role in that, but it was more than just physical. His heart was absolutely aching to be with her. He had felt whole with Jazz in his arms. As if she was the missing piece in the puzzle that his soul had become. As he walked closer to the grand house on the corner of the block and his obsession came into view standing on the balcony like an angel in her white lacey dress and hair blowing in the breeze, he swore to himself that no matter what happened, no matter who stood in his way, he would never lose this piece of his soul.

 **A/N: Okay, so there it is. Chapter 7, done with, over, complete! Phew! That was a rough one. A short one too. Sorry. :( Maybe the next one will be a lot longer. Is anyone else excited about Ichigo and Jasmine being alone in that big ole house of hers? Anyone? Any… just me? Okay. Well, it goes without saying that the illusive citrusy chapter is coming up next. BIG WARNING! I tend to get very explicit with my lemons and end up trying to tone them down a hair before I publish even though the toning down doesn't always work out. (See my "Dark" stories for reference. Lol.) If you aren't interested in reading about the naughty stuff, I suggest you skip over Ch. 8. However, if that's exactly what you've been waiting on, then by all means… stay tuned for Ch. 8 – INFERNO! Thanks again for all of your support! Love Ya'll!**


	8. Inferno

**A/N: You just had to say it didn't you, Kas? 1,000 views, I said. A new story to celebrate, I said. You guys are something else! What did ya'll do? Keep rereading my stories to make my view count jump up over night? Lol. Thank you everyone, so much. I don't even know what else to say. 1,000 views may not seem like a lot to you guys, but to me, it's a mountain I thought I'd never climb. I'm just a few views short of it now so I guess I should start working on a new story pretty soon! XD I promised after all. Oh, and thank you JaegerjaquezSweety for the follow, faves, and the review on the last chapter. Glad you like the story. And… your thought has been noted and seriously considered. Lol.**

 **Okay, yeah. This chapter…. WARNING! It's that time. Yup, I promised this too. So, watch out for lemon and fluff and sugar and spice and all that gushy stuff! Skip over if you want, or just enjoy! Without further ado….**

CHAPTER EIGHT – INFERNO

Ichigo stood below the balcony looking up at Jasmine. He'd never seen anyone look so beautiful in the dim moonlight. She was looking down at him with the same shy and innocent expression he'd seen the first day he'd met her. He stared at her for a few moments, and suddenly the distance between them seemed heavy and unbearable. He looked at the shape of her waist beneath the thin white cloth of her dress, the arc of her cheek, the curve of her pale lips. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and quickly scaled the lattice leading up to the balcony. He took her hand and smiled, letting her lead him inside her room.

Once inside, he pulled her close and gently touched her face with the tips of his fingers. "I know this is going to sound stupid… but Jazz, I think that I, I mean, I'm sure that I… I love you, Jasmine." He stuttered, feeling his face heat up both from his own words, and the closeness of her body. She smiled up at him and kissed him lightly.

"I love you, too." She whispered. She knew it was true. She'd loved him since the moment she'd seen him all those years ago. She just hadn't realized what it was she was feeling until recently.

Ichigo exhaled in relief. He had thought that maybe he was confessing his feelings too soon, that maybe she wouldn't feel the same way. She loved him, too! It was the most wonderful news he'd ever heard. He couldn't hold back his excitement and before he knew it, he was kissing her again. Slowly and sweetly at first, but as he felt her responding he gave in to the urges boiling just under the surface of his skin and slipped his tongue inside of her mouth, kissing her then like he was trying to brand her as his for all eternity.

Jazz ran her fingers through Ichigo's hair and pulled him closer as his kiss became more demanding. She felt his hands slide down her sides and rest on her hips, gripping tightly at the fabric of her dress. The barrier between his hands and her skin suddenly felt intrusive and foreign. She wanted to feel more of him next to her. The train of thought caught her by surprise and she pulled back just slightly and gazed at him. She saw love in his eyes along with passion and need and her knees nearly weakened at the sight. She wanted this; wanted him, but she was a little afraid. She had only had a handful of sexual experiences in her life and they had been less than pleasant. She didn't want to think of that just now. The look on Ichigo's face spoke volumes, and his eyes held promises of gentle and earthshaking pleasure. That was all she needed to push aside her worry as she pulled him to her again.

Her lips moved swiftly to his neck, and the sensation sent a burning wave across Ichigo's skin. She bit just above his collar, then higher to just under his jaw and her body shivered against him. "Jazz… oh God." He breathed. He didn't want her to stop. Whatever magic her lips and tongue were working on his sensitive skin was causing his thoughts to cloud over. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew they shouldn't go any further. He knew he should stop her before they crossed some invisible line but she just felt too good under his touch and he couldn't bring himself to say no. He could feel the rise of her breast pressing against his chest. His hands seemed to move of their own volition and he pushed the loose lace of her sleeves off her shoulders and let it fall and pool around her feet, exposing her small breasts and pale ivory skin to the moonlight shining in from the still open balcony. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. His hands hovered, not quite touching, over her as she lightly gasped and stared up at him. He searched her eyes for permission and as his hands began to shake lightly, she pressed her body into him. He thought for just one moment that that would be all it took to send him over the edge. He cupped her breast, feeling afraid to move at first but the hunger in her eyes seemed to beg for more contact as did the small moan that had escaped her parted lips. And so, he began to knead her breasts gently, finding a taught nipple with his fingers and rolled it between them. At the same time, he captured her mouth again and kissed her feverishly.

Jazz pulled at his belt but her mind had completely abandoned her and she couldn't seem to comprehend how to unbuckle it. Her motions became more frenzied and she made frustrated breathy noises against his lips . He reached down and undid it for her before returning to roaming his hands over her exposed flesh. Without a second thought, she unzipped his jeans, pushed her hand past the band of his boxer briefs and took him in her hand. His low groan seemed to echo loudly through the quiet room.

Through some miracle, Ichigo managed to reign in his wild abandoned thoughts enough to break away from their kiss, but not her hand. "Jazz, we don't have to… oh… shit…" A ripple a pleasure spiked through him and he almost lost track of his thought. "Jasmine… please… stop… for just… a minute." He half hissed, half whined through gritted teeth. When she looked into his eyes again and pulled her hand away, she seemed to be confused and almost hurt. Ichigo sighed and led her over to the bed and sat down pulling her down beside him. "I just don't want to rush you. You are so beautiful, and just so…. Ugh, I don't know what I'm saying. You're just so… innocent and pure and I can't… I won't be able to… God, could you cover up, please! I can't think straight!" He groaned and looked away. He felt like he had violated an angel and he knew that if he didn't stop things now, he wouldn't have the will power to hold back anymore.

Jasmine stared at her almost lover in amazement. He thought she was a… oh. Was he? Her mind filled with questions. Was he as innocent as he thought she was? If he wasn't, then who had he been with before? No, she _did not_ want to know the answer to that. She reached behind her and grabbed a throw blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her naked body. "Ichigo, I'm not… look at me." As he slowly turned back to her, she raised a hand and lightly caressed his cheek. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. Damn it! Now was not the time for one of her nervous freak outs! She took a slow calming breath and pressed on. "I'm not a… a virgin. Are… are you?" She stuttered, hoping that her admission wouldn't make him see her as tainted and dirty even though she often felt that way herself.

Ichigo's brain barely processed her words. She wasn't a virgin? But who? When? No, no. He didn't want to think about someone else having their hands on her. Now he was desperately nervous. Was she more experienced than him? He'd only been with one other person. It hadn't exactly been a normal experience either but that's whole different story*. It had just kind of happened, well, it had happened a few times, but he was almost certain he hadn't gained any sort of expertise in the art of love making because of it. He swallowed hard and looked at her quizzical expression. She'd asked him a question. What was it? Oh. "No… I'm not." He was blushing now, and so was she. This was getting awkward. He had to think this through. His eyes trailed from hers to her full, kiss bruised lips, to the curve of her neck, down past her blanket wrapped body to the bare skin of her thighs and he impulsively licked his lips. He shifted uncomfortably against his growing need. Damn, he wanted to touch her again.

Jazz thought about what it meant that neither one of them were as innocent as they appeared and a surge of jealousy swept through her. Someone else had been with Ichigo before her. Someone else had felt the weight of his body on top of them. He'd looked at another woman with that same hunger she could see now darkening his caramel eyes. She knew it wasn't fair for her to resent whoever it was, but she did. She desired nothing more than touch every inch of his muscle hardened body and feel his hands on her, but someone had beat her to it. They'd done everything she wanted to and maybe more. She felt the sudden need to prove herself worthy; to show Ichigo that she could give him more pleasure than anyone ever had or ever would again. She slowly dropped the blanket off her shoulders and stood, coming in front of him. Ichigo's eyes widened and his breath quickened as his gaze scanned her naked body. She felt completely bared to him. Not just her body but her heart and soul was his for the taking. She reached forward and pulled at the hem of his shirt until she'd lifted it above his head, then flung it to the floor behind her.

"I want you, Ichigo." She whispered to him. "No one else but you." She pushed him gently backward on to the mattress and he crawled up to lay fully on the bed, shimmying out of the bottom half of his clothing as he went, never taking his eyes off of her.

"You have no idea how much I want you, too." He moaned out as he beckoned her to join him with the crook of a finger.

She stood for a moment and simply stared at him, blue eyes glazed over with lust, scanning his body and settling on his erection. A heated blush flushed across her face but she slowly crawled onto the bed and settled just between his knees. With a tentative hand, she took hold of him again and began to stroke as she lowered her mouth just above the tip and licked, testing his reaction.

Ichigo sucked in and held his breath. Every muscle in his body tensed when she took him fully into her mouth and he could have sworn his vision would have blurred had he not squeezed his eyes shut. He threw his head back into the pillow and moaned loudly as she began to swirl her tongue around and slowly move her mouth down his length. "Jasmine… Nnngh… ahh." Incoherent babble. That was all he was capable of when she moved faster, up and down with her mouth, as her hand squeezed lightly at his base. Her tongue was massaging the underside of his shaft and lips were creating an intense suction with each movement. It was too intense… too good! "Ahhh… Jazz… stop! Stop…." He managed through shuddering breaths. He'd almost waited too long to pull her up to him. He'd recognized the tightening feeling of climax just a moment before it was too late. He took deep breaths and held her close to his chest, trying desperately to regain control.

She lay against him catching her own breath and trying to calm her body's response to what had just nearly happened. She had wanted so much to please him and she was sure that she had been but she was relieved he'd stopped her when he did. She wasn't ready to be finished with him just yet. She looked up at him and he gave her a sideways smile before scooping her up and rolling her over onto her back. As he climbed on top of her, he pressed his lips softly against hers and then began to trail gentle kisses down over her chin and onto her neck. It was almost ticklish and she giggled a little. His hands were lightly caressing bare skin as he traveled lower. Kisses became nibbles as he reached her breasts. His tongue teased at a hardened nipple and Jasmine bit back a cry. She burrier her hands in his hair and hummed in pleasure when he took it into his mouth and bit down softly. Moving still further down, he traced his tongue and lips down her abdomen until his hands slid along the outer sides of her thighs and then under her hips as he lifted her slightly. She watched him as he smiled up at her, her fingers still laced in his hair. Jasmine held her breath, unable to look away even as Ichigo's breath ghosted over her most intimate flesh. She jolted as his tongue made contact and she barely managed a strangled whimper in response. Then her breath quickened, nearly matching the rapid beat of her heart as he swirled his tongue around her clit.

He was purposely slow at first, watching carefully for her response. When she cried out and gripped his hair painfully tight, he sped up his menstruations, combining the movement of his tongue with experimental pressure and rhythms until Jazz was shaking beneath him. Ichigo had to grip her hips to keep her in place as she bucked wildly against his mouth. She was panting between moans and cries and just as he was sure she'd came undone completely, she pulled violently backward on his hair, begging him to stop. As he wriggled out of her weakening grip and moved to lay beside her, he smiled to himself feeling proud that even though he'd never done _that_ before, he was able to turn her into such a quivering mess.

As soon as Jasmine's body stopped quaking, she looked over at Ichigo and smiled. "That was… wow." She was still out of breath, but she wanted more. More of everything that was Ichigo Kurosaki. She leaned in and kissed him deeply, tasting herself still on his lips. She ran her hand over his abs and down to his still hard erection and groaned appreciatively. She felt rather than heard his own groan against her lips and she quickly rolled over to straddle him. "I love you." She whispered, meeting his eyes. He placed his hands on her hips as she hovered above him. "I love you, too."

She slowly guided him into her as he pushed against her. He felt impossibly larger inside of her and impossibly hard. She moaned through the sensation, her body burning in fevered bliss. When she settled onto him fully and began rocking her hips, it felt like the most pure and true moment of her entire life. Her previous thoughts and worries and doubts were all silenced by the waves of rising ecstasy seared through her like a blazing inferno, scorching every nerve. He closed his eyes again and began to move up into her, matching the rhythm she had set and she was filled over and over, made complete with his every thrust.

She leaned back, held onto his thighs, and arched her back as they continued. Ichigo opened his eyes and saw that she was watching him, her mouth open and her eyes half lidded. In the moonlight, she was beautiful beyond perfection. He let his gaze explore her ivory skin, then settled into watching her impale herself on him, watching how deep he was buried within her. A strange guttural moan came from deep within his chest. What had he ever done in his whole miserable life to deserve this much pleasure? As they began to move together more quickly, she began to cry out again. Her voice was hoarse and strained but it was angelic to his ears. He could barely recognize his own cries that seemed to echo hers and soon he felt the tightening coil of his release building.

Jasmine dug her nails into his thighs on impulse. Her movements increased even more. She threw her head back and then, as her body seized and her orgasm rocked through her, she flung herself forward and buried her face under his jaw. She felt every second of his release deep inside when his warmth shot into her. He thrusted up hard once more, grabbing her hips and holding her still as she felt his orgasm crest and ebb through him.

They laid in a breathless mess for what seemed like an eternity. She was still straddling him, sprawled helplessly across his chest and he had his arms wrapped lazily around her when she sensed it. Aria was home. She sat up quickly and tried to move but her legs were a shaky mess and wouldn't hold her weight. She flopped back onto the bed beside Ichigo, trying desperately to compose herself.

"She's here. You have to go!" She nearly yelled before realizing the need to be quiet.

"What? Your sister's here? Shit!" As they heard the front door open, Ichigo sprang from the bed, haphazardly throwing on clothing in sheer panic. Hopping on one foot he managed to pull on his shirt, underwear, jeans, and one shoe. Where the hell was the other one? As he turned to look around, he lost his balance and fell onto the mattress.

Jasmine had managed to dress herself too, and in record time. She grabbed Ichigo's abandoned shoe from the floor and lobbed it at him just barely missing his head. "Thanks." He muttered and scooted to the far side of the bed to put it on.

The knock on her bedroom door startled Jasmine but she thanked the gods Aria hadn't just barged in like normal. "Uh… just a second." She called looking over at Ichigo who had gone pale and stopped moving all together. Seconds before the door flew open, she shoved him as hard as she could. He flew off the side of the bed and hit the floor with a loud thump. She whispered and apology then directed him to hide under the bed just as Aria strode into the room.

 **A/N: *Maybe possibly an idea for another story here…. Just a thought (Wink, Wink). What do you guys think? Alrighty then, so the much awaited or dreaded or… whatever, Chapter Eight is finished. If you stuck around long enough to read this far, give me a shout in the review section and tell me what you thought. Too much lemon? Not enough fluff? I crave feedback! Lol. Or you know…. just let me know you're all still here. Until next time, Love ya'll!**


	9. Frost Beneath the Flame

**A/N: Uh Oh, late update, again… don't hate me!**

 **Thank you guys for hanging in there with me for this story. I'm sorry that it got sidelined for a couple weeks. There's just been so much going on in my personal life. I won't get into it right now. If any of you are reading my other story, you know what's up. I'm not going to rehash it here. If you really would like to know, see the author's note at the beginning of Dream A Little Dream. Anyway, this chapter should have been longer. Sorry about that. I had about 4,000 words down but half of it just felt like lazy writing and I couldn't make myself put that out there. I'd feel like I was letting you guys down. So here's the revised version. Hope you like it. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER NINE- FROST BENEATH THE FLAME

Jasmine watched Ichigo scurry underneath the bed as Aria made her entrance into the room followed by Kasha and Kean. She held her breath and tried to still her shaking hands. Crossing her legs underneath her she sat back against the headboard and willed her eyes to meet her sister's and waited for the coming storm.

"What the hell have you been doing in here?" Aria chastised in a shrill tone. She shot Jasmine a cold stare before glancing around the room. "Your spiritual pressure has been fluctuating so strongly, we could feel it from the café across town!"

In a flustered panic, Jazz fought the blush rising to her face at the memory of exactly what she'd been doing. She took an unsteady breath and lied her heart out. "I… uh… I was having a bad dream." She knew her excuse would work. She'd told that lie so many times. Before she'd lost her powers, there were many nights that her reiatsu would spike and go out of control. Her stomach turned when she thought of the reason why. She never wanted to go back to feeling that way again and with Ichigo, she never would.

From behind Aria, Kean narrowed his eyes and glared at Jasmine before chuckling softly. "A nightmare, huh? Poor little Ju'oh. Is there anything we can do to make it better?" His velvety soft voice raised goose bumps on Jasmine's skin. She shook her head and cast her eyes to the floor. "I'm fine." She choked out. "It was just a dream."

As Kean approached the bed and sat next to Jasmine, Kasha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Stop babying her, Kean! A dream, huh? Then what was that loud thump we heard a minute ago? Don't you have to be sleeping to have a nightmare?"

Kean shut his sister up with a glare of pure malice before gently resting his hand on Jazz's leg. "Despite her ignorance, that was a decent question. What was that noise, Jasmine?"

"I… uh… I fell out of the bed. That's what woke me up. I guess it was a really bad dream."

Ichigo struggled to tell what was going on but all he could see from his position on the floor was feet. Three pair of feet. And barely even that now that Kean had sat down. His legs were directly in his line of sight. He felt the bed move and Jazz's bare legs came into view. She was moving away from her cousin. Ichigo hadn't seen what had made her recoil so quickly but he had a feeling it wasn't good. He heard a crooning above him, like Kean was trying to comfort Jasmine but she remained silent, and Ichigo prayed that was a sign that they all believed her story.

Kean eyed Jasmine with suspicion but slowly lifted his hand and placed it on the small of her back. She immediately flinched away from him. He couldn't help feeling a little hurt but he continued to smile, trying to reassure her that he meant no harm. "My dear little Ju'oh." He purred. "I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that your powers have returned to you. Do you know what I think would cheer you up?" He asked lifting her chin with his finger so that he could make eye contact. "A celebration dinner. Wouldn't that be nice? You didn't eat anything at the party did you? You must be starving." He stood and watched her face for signs of acceptance. When her features softened and she nodded slightly, his smile broadened. "Good! We'll all go to that little café on the corner, and… oh dear. It's nearly day light. Well, how does breakfast sound instead, hmm?"

"Oh that'd be wonderful, brother!" Kasha beamed. "Jazz, you should call that sexy little Ishida boy and ask him to join us. I'm sure he's just dying to see you after last night. It'd be kind of fitting since he will be a member of this family soon, anyway!"

Kean's face fell at his sister's words and he turned to her and Aria with a stern but questioning look but before he could say anything, Jasmine flew off the bed and stood in front of her cousin. "What did you say?" She asked just a few inches from Kasha's face. When the young blonde didn't answer, she turned to her sister. "What the hell is she talking about?" Jasmine had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw the cocky look on Aria's face.

"Oh don't give me that look. You two are perfect for each other! And it's not like there aren't any feelings there. The boy nearly drools every time he looks at you. Any fool can see that. Besides, I've already discussed it with Ryuken, and even though he isn't 100% on board with the idea of an arranged marriage just yet, he'll come around. He does agree with me that he's noticed the attraction between you and that it would benefit both his family and ours."

Aria's words caused Jazz's blood to boil. She could feel herself losing control of her spiritual pressure again and it was all she could do to keep from forming her spirit bow right then and there and impaling her sister with as many arrows as she could manage. It was apparent that her reiatsu was effecting the other Quincies in the room as they all seemed to stumble back a little from her. Or perhaps it was simply the death glare she was sending in Aria's direction. "YOU BITCH!" She screamed. Kean stepped forward and tried to hold her back but she shook him off with ease. She pointed a finger in her sister's face which was now paling slightly. "What makes you think you could do that? Uryu is my best friend! You can't make decisions like that for him, and as for me… you do not have the right! I am head of this house now! Or did you forget, dear sister?" Her voice had grown cold and steady. She was no longer shouting but her words dripped venom all the same. "I have my powers back and you have no control over me or this family anymore."

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren't you Jasmine?" Aria asked with confidence. "Or did you forget? You aren't the head of this house just yet. Not until you turn 18, and until then, I am your guardian and rightful leader of this family and you will do whatever the fuck I tell you to!"

"Aria!" Kean shouted as he pushed a stunned Jasmine behind him. "That's enough! Never again speak to to the Isaka heiress that way! Have you forgotten her birthright? You're acting like she's some mail order bride going out to the highest bidder! The young Ishida maybe a good match but they are both still children! And you…" he turned his attention to his twin sister who was rummaging through Jasmine's closet holding up her clothes and then tossing them to the floor. "Get out of her things and have a little respect!" Turning and placing his hand on Jazz's trembling shoulders, he sighed. "Perhaps we'll take a rain check for breakfast. Just me and you, huh? And maybe your friend, too, if he feels so inclined. He winked at her then and cut his eyes at the underside of the bed and Jasmine stilled with a wide eyed stare. Kean turned without another word and grabbed Aria and Kasha both hard by the wrists and ushered them both out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

Ichigo listened to the argument, gritting his teeth. They were going to make her marry Ishida? That was bullshit! He'd ring Uryu's skinny little neck before he'd let that happen. No, he should blame Aria. He doubted Uryu knew anymore about their plan than Jazz did. And he'd blame Ryuken if that bastard agreed to this nonsense. He'd had to force himself to stay calm throughout the whole conversation, reminding himself how much worse it would be for Jazz if he'd leapt out from hiding to defend her like he'd wanted to. What was with that Kean guy? Ichigo had originally thought that he must be an asshole and had lumped him in the same category as Aria and his freaky sister but from the way he had defended Jazz just now, Ichigo began to wonder if maybe he'd misjudged him. When he finally heard the door shut and the room grow silent, he inched his way out from under the bed.

Jazz looked up at Ichigo as he approached and threw herself into his arms. All the pent up emotion came flooding out as he held onto her and let her cry. After a few moments, he leaned back and kissed her forehead gently. "So… you got your powers back, huh?" He whispered, not wanting to give the other three people in the house any reason to barge back in. She smiled up at him and nodded. He hugged her tightly. "That's great, Jazz! Hey, I don't know what all that other stuff is about, but we'll figure it out okay? I love you. I won't lose you. Especially not to Uryu Ishida!" He whispered against her hair and felt her giggle softly against his chest. "I love you, too."

They walked together out onto the balcony and stood in the early morning light. They talked quietly for while about everything Ichigo had overheard and about what Ryuken had said about her powers having been suppressed or sealed, not drained by the hollow. She told him of her plan to talk to Kisuke Urahara and he agreed that if anyone in Karakura Town could figure it out, it would be the genius ex-soul reaper captain. They decided they'd go to the shop together later on in the day after both of them had some time to rest.

As Ichigo started to climb down from the balcony, Jazz stopped him for one last kiss. When he pulled away, she was smiling so serenely at him, he couldn't imagine that his life could ever be more complete.

"I wish you could stay." She said, leaning over the railing as he descended. "I wish last night could have lasted forever."

His feet had barely touched the ground before he was climbing back up to capture her lips in another sweet kiss. "Then let's pretend it's night again. Back up, and let me come back in."

Jazz grabbed his shoulders and held him still. "No, you goof," She laughed. "If anybody sees you here, Aria will kill you!"

Ichigo laughed and kissed Jazz on the tip of her nose. In a sudden dramatic motion, he flung one leg over the balcony banister and pulled her close to him. He couldn't resist the urge. "Let me be taken, let me be put to death! I am content if you will it so."

"Ichigo! Is that… are you quoting Romeo and Juliet?" Jasmine was stunned. Hadn't he said he didn't pay attention in that class?

"Act Three, Scene Five. Now, shhh! I'm trying to be romantic." He cleared his throat, then frowned. "You made me lose my place. Oh yeah… I have more care to stay then will to go! Come death, and welcome! Jasmine wills it so! How are you, my soul? Let's talk, for it is not day."

Jazz was laughing hysterically at Ichigo's over dramatic prose. "Wow that was impressive! I thought you hated Shakespeare."

"No… I said I hated that class. Mrs. Matsuda makes my ear drums bleed." Ichigo said as he settled back on the other side of the railing. "I really have to go now, huh?" he asked, poking out his bottom lip in a fake pout. Jazz leaned in and kissed the protruding lip then nodded. Ichigo slowly climbed down until he was standing below the balcony again looking up at her. "I'll see you later." He called up quietly as he waved goodbye and turned to walk home.

"Yeah, later." Jasmine couldn't stop smiling as she watched him go. She knew beyond a doubt that she really never had been in love before this. Ichigo was the sun that her world revolved around. He was her reason for existing. She truly felt complete when he was with her, and when he was away, he took a piece of her heart with him. She laughed at herself. "Wow. When did I get so mushy?"

She turned and walked inside and fell back on her bed. Grabbing her pillow and hugging it tight, she realized that it smelled like Ichigo. She smiled again. She hadn't been this happy in a long time. And she was determined to hold on to her happiness, despite everything that Aria and the twins had planned. "Shit!" She'd almost forgotten about that mess. She sat up, reached for her cell on the nightstand, and quickly dialed Uryu's number.

After two rings, he answered, "Jazz? Are you alright?" his voice sounded gravelly. He'd clearly been sleeping.

She felt a twinge of guilt for waking him up so early but it couldn't be helped. "I'm fine but, Uryu, we need to talk."

"That's never good. Okay…" he yawned into the phone. "I'm listening. What is it?"

"Aria is trying to get Ryuken to consent to an arranged marriage between you and I. Don't freak out, just listen. I think I have a plan."

"What? Did you just say what I think you said?" Well, it wasn't a freak out… by Uryu standards anyway. He actually sounded way calmer than she'd expected.

"Yeah. You and me, married… and before I turn 18 so I'll really have no choice. Unless Ryuken says no. He will say no, right?" She asked. She kind of wished her best friend would freak out just a little. He was starting to make her nervous.

"Um… yeah. Yes, of course he'll say no. He doesn't trust Aria as far as he could throw her. But Jazz, you know she's got a backup plan. She always does."

"I know." Jasmine thought about what it could possibly be. "That's where my plan comes in. I need you to do me a favor."

Uryu was silent for a moment before answering, "Okay, anything."

"I need you to meet me and Ichigo at Urahara's Shop in four hours. I'll explain everything there."

"Jasmine… was Ichigo with you last night?" Uryu seemed to be hesitating as he asked her.

"Yeah, why?" She responded. Uryu was acting strange and not in the usual way. What was up with him?

"No reason. Hey, I gotta go. I'll be there though, at Urahara's. Four hours, right? See you then." Uryu spouted then abruptly hung up, leaving Jasmine to stare at the 'call ended' screen in surprise.

"Okay… bye." She said before laying the phone down on her night stand again. Things were getting really strange around here. She'd slept with her true love, got her powers back, started to reveal some kind of secret about what had really happened to said powers, cussed her sister out, and had gotten damn near engaged to her best friend all in less than 24 hours. And now, that best friend was acting like a weirdo. She really needed Uryu to be his normal know-it-all self right now, damn him! She couldn't spare the time needed for one of her break downs but that was exactly what was about to happen.

 **A/N: Okay, there ya go. Chapter 9. Sorry if it wasn't exactly what you all wanted it to be. There's much more to come so stick around! Special Thanks to JaegerjaquezSweety for your inspiring pm. You have no idea how much that helped. I promise I will TRY to get chapter 10 out by the end of the week and chapter 3 of D.A.L.D. and the third part of the "Dark" series. Wow, I'm really behind on my writing, huh? :( Sorry guys. I'm on it. I swear! Don't forget to hit that follow/favorite button down below! It really does a lot to boost my confidence and inspire me to write more. And if you have the time, leave a review and tell me what you think. There are a lot of secrets to be revealed before I finish this one off and I just keep adding more to the pile. Somebody shoot me a message about all the mysteries that need to be unraveled that you've noticed so far. I don't want to leave any loose ends. Still in need of a beta. Anybody have any suggestions? Love Ya'll!**


	10. Illuminating the Shadows

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Writer's block strikes again! I think I've got it under control, now. So first off, I'd like to thank my new beta reader, AliceLovesCakes! Everybody give her a big round of applause! Yay! She's got her work cut out for her folks. Wish her luck. Lol. Any who… this chapter is kind of slow moving. The next few chapters will be that way, but they are all building up to something pretty big! Okay, enough of the spoiler stuff… On to the story! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER TEN-

ILLUMINATING THE SHADOWS

Uryu Ishida, proud Quincy, sole heir to his father's legacy, best friend to the future Isaka Ju'oh… complete and total asshole. Uryu sighed aloud. Why couldn't he just stop thinking about what he wanted and concentrate on his friend? It was probably because he didn't really know what he wanted. He wanted Jazz to be happy. He knew that, but why did the thought of her being happy with Kurosaki make him feel the need to bash in a skull or two? He'd meant what he had said to the ex-substitute soul reaper. He really would kill him if he hurt her - but now he was looking for any excuse to make good on his promise. Why? Sure, he and Ichigo were never really the best of friends, but he didn't hate the guy. He was trouble but he never purposely hurt people that he cared about. He'd be good to Jazz. So, why was this bothering Uryu so much? Why was the thought of being forced into a marriage with Jasmine not bothering him as much as it should be?

Uryu stood outside Urahara's Shop, not really wanting to go inside. There were Soul Reapers in there. He could sense at least two aside from Kisuke and Tessai and he knew exactly which ones he felt. There was also a strong spiritual presence in the air but couldn't quite figure out what it was or where it was coming from. Something else was going on besides this mess with Jasmine and it had Ichigo Kurosaki written all over it, even though he was probably oblivious to it like always. He didn't really care about that right now, except that whatever was going on would involve Jazz by default just because of her new relationship with the ex-substitute Soul Reaper.

That relationship was what he was worried about at the moment. What the hell was she thinking? Every spiritually aware dumbass in Karakura could have sensed the reiatsu roller-coaster going on with Jazz last night… ALL NIGHT! Ugh! Uryu was disgusted. He'd put it together pretty quick about what she'd been doing as soon as he figured out that Ichigo had been with her. She really needed to learn some control over her spiritual pressure while she was… Nope! He didn't even want to finish that thought. He was more concerned with why it had felt so familiar. He'd remembered a few times that he'd felt her lose control at night years ago and she'd blamed it on nightmares. It had felt a bit darker then, almost like she had been afraid, so he'd believed her. Now he wasn't so sure.

He sensed her before he saw her. Jazz was walking up behind him, and she wasn't alone. Her reiatsu was almost overpowering even now that she had it under complete control. That was new. She'd been pretty strong before but nothing quite like this. Uryu turned to her and smiled as kindly as he could until he saw Ichigo walking beside her. His smile quickly vanished. He'd just sensed… something… from Ichigo. What the hell was that?

"Ishida." Ichigo nodded in a half-ass greeting.

Good. Uryu wasn't really in the mood to play nice with him today, anyway. "Kurosaki. You're late."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I had to work."

"You have a job? It's about time you quit being lazy!" Uryu was kind of surprised. All he'd seen Kurosaki doing so far was hiring himself out to random sports teams at school.

"Lazy? You don't know the half of what I've been doing!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Kurosaki! I know exactly what you've been doing." Uryu was about to blurt out that Ichigo had been _doing_ his best friend but he figured a comment like that wouldn't earn him any points with Jazz so he kept it to himself and just hoped the jerk picked up on the insinuation.

"Okay, boys. Are we done with the macho stuff? I'd really like to get this over with." Jazz smiled at the two of them and shook her head before dragging Ichigo to the door and knocking loudly.

She looked back at Uryu with a knowing glance. She'd felt them, too. The Soul Reapers. Uryu looked at Ichigo who stood, smiling down at Jazz, like he didn't have a care in the world. That expression looked really odd on him. At least he wasn't brooding. Uryu really got tired of the constant scowl on Ichigo's face. He really shouldn't judge though. He imagined he looked about the same most of the time, now that he really thought about it. He shook his head at Jasmine, trying to signal her not to say anything about the others. Ichigo couldn't see them anymore and it wouldn't do anyone any good to let him know they were there.

The door slid open, startling the three of them. "Ah… How unexpected! If it isn't Ichigo Kurosaki… It's been a while. And you must be Jasmine. I've been just dying to meet you." Kisuke Urahara beamed at them from the doorway, stepping aside and waving his fan at them to enter. "Come on in. You too, Uryu. Have a seat in the kitchen there. I'll be with you in a minute. There are some… things I need to attend to."

Jasmine watched the strange shop keeper walk to the back of the shop and disappear behind a sliding screen as she followed Ichigo and Uryu into the little old world style kitchen. As they all took their places on the cushions around the low table, she found herself nestled awkwardly between the two men in her life. Looking at the both of them, she sighed and scooched a little closer to Ichigo.

They'd both warned her that Urahara was a little odd, but she was beginning to think that was putting it mildly. He had looked at Jasmine like he'd known her forever even though she was quite sure she'd never met the man before in her whole life. Uryu had told her many stories about him and so she knew he was much more than the ordinary shop owner he pretended to be. She'd heard about his past as a Soul Reaper Captain and how he was supposed to be some sort of genius scientist. She just hoped he was more like Albert Einstein and less like Dr. Frankenstein. Jazz leaned toward Ichigo and whispered, "How did he know who I was?"

Ichigo shrugged, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her a little closer. "Nobody knows with Hat & Clogs. He's kind of one of those people that… knows stuff."

Jazz smiled up at him, giggling a little, just as Uryu scoffed. "He knows stuff? What does that even mean?" He cleared his throat while Ichigo scowled at him over the top of Jazz's head. "Jazz, Urahara does 'know stuff'," he air-quoted, "because he's very smart, very perceptive, and VERY well informed. And who knows? I might have mentioned you a time or two in passing and he just made an educated guess. Besides…"

Jasmine turned a skeptical eye toward her friend. He was rambling. Uryu only tended to ramble when he was either tutoring her in advanced calculus (yuck), or when he was nervous; but why? Sure, the last 24 hours had been kind of insane, but there wasn't much for him to worry about except for maybe the whole pending marriage debacle. Ryuken would more than likely sort all of that out for them. Uryu had said so himself. She watched her friend closely. He was stone faced while he continued on listing random facts about Kisuke Urahara. She probably should have been listening but she'd tuned him out and was instead studying the dark circles under his eyes and how he never fully looked at her as her talked. Maybe it was the presence of the soul reapers she'd felt earlier. Maybe he had the same gut feeling she did that something wasn't quite right in Karakura Town.

Jazz reached out and laid a hand over Uryu's where it rested on the table finally silencing him. She waited for him to look her in the eyes and smiled gently. "Uryu, what's wrong?" She asked. Ichigo stiffened at her side but didn't say anything.

Uryu opened his mouth, then closed it again and shrugged before averting his eyes to a spot on the table in front of them. He pulled his hand slowly out from under hers and folded it along with the other hand neatly in his lap. "It's nothing… I'm just… tired, I guess." He looked at her briefly before staring down at his hands.

Ichigo leaned in close and kissed Jasmine's temple then whispered so quietly she barely even heard him. "Don't worry, okay? I'm sure he'll talk to you about it later when I'm not around."

Jazz glanced up at Ichigo and he offered her a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but smile back. How did she get lucky enough to find someone like him? Most other guys would never understand her friendship with Uryu without showing an ounce of jealousy.

The distinct click-clack of wooden sandals approaching pulled her out of her thoughts, along with the retreating spiritual pressures of at least two soul reapers. There was however, two more lingering close by. One more however, continued to linger close by. One that felt very familiar. She couldn't figure out why they would. She had never come in close contact with very many Soul Reapers. She mental shook of the odd feeling. Soul Reapers were not her enemy so it didn't really matter much who Mr. Urahara hanging around his shop. It was none of her business anyway.

"Thank you for being so patient with me." Kisuke crooned as he walked in and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. He kept his head down slightly so that the brim of his hat covered his eyes in shadow. For someone who seemed so warm and inviting, he had an air about him that warned of danger and power. Jazz hated that that she couldn't see his eyes. She was a firm believer in the old adage that the eyes were the windows to the soul. She supposed that was the reason she always kept her eyes down cast around most people. Just one more way to keep her secrets safe.

"So, what brings you kids here today?" Kisuke started, "Ah, I see. Miss Isaka, you've got a pretty messy problem don't you?" He leaned across the table and took Jasmine by the hand, startling her. "Don't be scared. I wouldn't hurt a fly. Besides, it'll only make your reiatsu spike again. We really need to get that pesky barrier out of the way."

Jazz was stunned, along with Ichigo and Uryu. All three stared open-mouthed at Kisuke like he'd just grown two heads. "What?" He asked with a dismissing wave of his fan. "I'm not a mind reader. Ryuken stopped by last night and explained the whole thing. He figured at least one of you might come to me for help."

Jasmine blinked and laughed nervously. "Oh, okay… but I… uh, I think I kind of handled that already."

"The barrier? Yes, he said you did a beautiful job of dissolving it for the most part but it will only build back up in time unless whatever causing it is completely eradicated. It's like… well, imagine a water hose connected to a faucet. Someone or something has tied knot in the hose. What you did last night loosened the knot a bit more and got the water flowing again." He explained as if he were teaching a room full of kindergarteners. "What we need to do now is remove it completely before it tightens back up."

"And find out who did it to begin with." Ichigo interjected. At least he was following along somewhat.

Jasmine was still desperately confused. "Okay… so if what I did was loosen the knot, or barrier or… whatever, then what happened before that? I didn't do anything at all to make my powers come back. They just did all of a sudden! I was just… talking… to Ichigo," she tried to hide the blush creeping up as she continued, "and then, BAM! Reiatsu overload!" She exclaimed. None of this was adding up. If the hollow she'd fought had the ability to steal reiatsu like she'd been told, then why hadn't it truly stolen hers? And how would someone know that she would believe her powers were gone after waking up from that fight? That would have had to have been more than just coincidence! Someone would have to have timed it perfectly. But who? And why would anyone want to do that? Her first thought was that it had to be Aria or the twins, but that would mean they had put her father at risk, too. They would never do something like that to him… would they? She sighed long and hard. "I have so many questions, Mr. Urahara. I don't even know where to begin." She admitted, slumping against Ichigo who squeezed her shoulders gently.

He looked up at Kisuke with a solemn expression. "Help her, please."

Urahara nodded. "Of course. I've already got someone in the Soul Society searching through the archives there for anything that might be used to block a person's spiritual pressure in this manner. Tessai and I will just need to run a few tests and…"

"Tests?" Uryu came to alert. "What kind of tests? Look Urahara, I know you're a scientist and all but that's exactly why I won't let you near Jazz with any of your damned needles or experiments!" Uryu stood, voice getting louder with each syllable.

"Whoa! Calm down!" Urahara laughed dryly. "Who do you think I am, Uryu Ishida?" The question was more of a menacing warning, and Uryu sat down immediately. "They'll be Kido scans. No one will even lay a hand on her, and… as I was saying, we should be able to figure out the best way to completely remove the barrier without causing much damage."

Jazz swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Much damage?"

Urahara smiled broadly. "Probably none at all. I just like to be prepared for all possible outcomes."

Probably… That was not very comforting. But Ichigo trusted Urahara and despite his earlier outburst, Jazz knew that Uryu did too. "Well then," She said as she bravely stood to her feet, "Let's get this party started, huh?"

 **A/N: Alright, what'd ya think? Kinda short, but I don't like to extend a chapter too much if it's mostly just dialog and information. Leave a review and tell me where you think this might be headed! I love hearing from you guys! Oh and before I forget, I read a fantastic story recently and I just had to ask permission from the author to give her story a little shout out. She said go for it, so everyone should go and check out** _ **Imagine I was Gone**_ **by sadsmile33. It's really amazing and not at all what you would think from the summary. It's cute and sad and funny and… well, it's great! Just go read it! Lol. And give her some praise in the reviews! Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me on this story. I really appreciate all of the support. Love Ya'll!**


	11. Defying The Stars

**A/N: Thank you to my beta reader, AliceLovesCakes! You are a life saver!**

 **Have I told you guys yet how much I have loved writing this story? It's been a crazy ride! Thank you everyone for all of the support you've shown me and this story along the way. For those of you reading Dream a Little Dream, hang in there. I haven't forgotten about it, I'm just trying to finish this one first so I can concentrate completely on it. Both of my stories have such different tones that it's become a little bit of a handful to work on them both at the same time. I hope you all have enjoyed Star Crossed so far, and I hope you continue to hang in there with me through the next few chapters as we near the end. As always, on to the story! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DEFYING THE STARS

Ichigo was pacing back and forth in Urahara's kitchen. Every few minutes he'd stop, check the time on his phone, sigh loudly, then resume pacing. Hat-N-Clogs didn't let him or Ishida go with Jazz to the other room for the tests no matter how much they'd complained and threatened. Jazz had kissed them both on the cheek and told them to "behave", smiling that whole world brightening smile of hers, and followed Kisuke and Tessai out of the room.

Ichigo checked the time again. "It's been an hour and a half!" He shouted at Uryu, who was sitting quietly at the table reading a book.

Uryu rolled his eyes and looked up at him. "Then it's been exactly five minutes since the last time you bellowed at me." He said coldly before continuing his reading.

"Well, how long do you think it will take?" Ichigo asked. His nerves were completely frazzled. Kisuke had made it sound like this was going to be a piece of cake, so why the hell was it taking so long? Uryu shrugged at him in answer without even looking up. Ishida could be so damn infuriating! Was he not even a little worried? Ichigo looked at him more closely. His lips were drawn in a tight line, his brow was creased, and he kept absently rubbing at his temple with one hand. He was definitely worried. Ichigo slumped his shoulders and shuffled over to sit down across from him.

"Hey Ishida… about this whole… marriage thing. Aria can't really do that, can she? Force you two like that?"

Uryu closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. He shut the book he'd been reading and sat it down between them on the table. "Yes she can and she will. She's the head of the Isaka household until Jazz turns 1 ; but not without Ryuken's consent which he would never give. I'm not the one you should be worried about."

Ichigo started to feel relieved before the latter part of Uryu's statement caught up with him. "Good... Wait, what?"

"You don't realize how much weight the Isaka name carries among Quincy families. Any man would give his right arm to be married to one of them. When Ryuken turns down Aria's offer, it will only be a matter of time before she finds another suitable candidate."

Ichigo hadn't given much thought to what would happen if Ryuken didn't agree. He'd been more concerned about how to stop Uryu and Jasmine from getting married. Dread started to tighten in his chest. What if Aria forced Jasmine to marry a complete stranger? "I won't let that happen!" He growled, slamming his fists down on the table. "Why is it so important to Aria that Jasmine gets married anyway?"

Uryu leveled him with an uneasy look and sighed again. Okay, fine! I'll try to explain it but I doubt that it will make much sense to you." He stood and walked around the table so that he could pace in front of Ichigo. "If Jazz marries before she turns 18, she will forfeit her place as head of household _if_ her husband isn't of pure birth. Like me, for example. My mother was not a pure blood Quincy so neither am I. He paused and looked at Ichigo to see if he was following along. After a short silence and a completely blank look from Ichigo, he decided to continue anyway. "The only loop hole is if said husband is chosen by Jasmine." He took a deep breath and watched Ichigo's face for any change.

"Wow… that's oddly specific. Quincy marriages are kind of complicated." Ichigo was trying to wrap his head around everything but he was coming up with more questions than answers.

Uryu nodded as if he'd expected Ichigo to say something to that affect. "It's just Jasmine. She's very special. It's actually just an old Quincy legend about the Isaka's youngest family head. Apparently, the youngest female heir of their line was blessed by the sealed King. Seen before she was born; chosen by him."

"The sealed King?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that's a long story. It's just a crazy legend anyway. None of that matters right now. Anyway, supposedly the chosen heir was to be born in our generation and when she becomes the head of the family, she'll come into her full power. It's supposed to herald the coming of the King. I don't know all the details. I just remember my grandfather telling the story of the 'Quincy Queen' to me and Jazz when we were little. It's the reason Kean calls Jazz 'Little Ju'oh' or little queen. The Isaka's obviously believe it's more than just a story. As do most of the remaining Quincy families. So, I suppose Aria thinks that if she can keep Jasmine from becoming head of the family, the figurative crown will belong to her."

"So all we have to do is keep Jazz from getting married until she's 18, right?" Ichigo had latched on to the only bit of information that made any sort of sense to him. All that other nonsense about Quincy Queens and Sealed Kings made his head spin.

"That's not gonna be easy. Like I said, Aria probably already has someone else lined up as we speak." Uryu walked back around and took his seat. He was just as eager as Ichigo was to stop Aria's plan but he had no idea how they would do it.

"I think I'd rather she married you. Damn it! What the hell do we do?" Ichigo stood as soon as Uryu sat and took over the pacing for the both of them.

"Why don't you just ask her to marry you? She'd choose you over me any day." Uryu scoffed off-handedly.

Ichigo stopped and stared at Uryu, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She'd choose… She'd choose me! Ishida, you're a genius!" He could have hugged him if he wasn't too busy putting it all together in his head.

"What? Whoa, hold on a minute, Kurosaki! I was being sarcastic. You can't marry Jasmine!" Uryu stood abruptly nearly knocking over the table.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You said if she chose her husband it would work, right? It's worth a shot. Why can't I try?"

"Because… you just can't, okay? You guys are teenagers. You'd need parental consent. Aria will never agree and who says your dad will?"

Ichigo thought about it and no matter what scenario he came up with, he just couldn't see how he could get past Jasmine's sister. Ishida was right. Even if he asked Jazz to marry him and somehow managed to get his overbearing father's approval, Aria would never give her consent. "Then we'll just run away. I'll take her somewhere and hide out until she turns 18. It's just a couple of months. We'll come back as soon as she's old enough to be head of the family." He was trying to hold on to some kind of hope. They could just lay low until Jazz was old enough to put Aria and the twins in their place. He had liked the idea of marrying Jazz but they were really too young for that and he'd rather do it the right way instead of it being just a clever plan to keep her from having to marry someone else.

"I… I don't know. Maybe that would work." Uryu didn't much care for the idea of Jazz being out of his sight for two whole months but it was a hell of a lot better than Kurosaki's previous idea. "But what about school? It's our last year. We've got college entrance exams coming up. You can't just miss two months and still expect to graduate."

"Yeah, but Jasmine's happiness is more important than any of that. I can't just let them take that away from her!" Ichigo exclaimed.

He was taking on his protective roll again. It'd been over a year since Uryu had seen that look in Ichigo's eyes. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was glad to see it now. He knew that Jazz would be safe with Ichigo, no matter what. "You won't be able to tell anyone else where you're going to go. It will be hard enough to keep her new super reiatsu hidden without half of Karakura Town knowing where you two are."

"Ishida, I'm not stupid! I'm not going to tell anyone." Ichigo stated.

"Tell anyone what?" Jasmine asked, emerging from the hall way followed by Urahara.

Ichigo and Uryu raced to her side, both relieved to see her and nearly forgetting the conversation they'd been having as they bombarded her with questions about her wellbeing. She laughed at them and hugged them both. "I'm fine! Really, guys. You're acting like I almost died or something." She looked at them both. They kept glancing at each other in a way that suggested they both had something more to say. "Okay, spill it. What are you two up to?"

"They've figured out a way to change your fate, I believe, and not a moment too soon. Whoever did this is probably going to try again." Urahara cut in when the two boys failed to offer any explanation. All three of the teens stared at him again like he'd said something crazy. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He chuckled. "I eavesdrop. It's a nasty habit but I just can't help it… We have a lot to discuss but I have a feeling that we need a little more privacy. Follow me."

Jazz smiled weakly at Uryu and Ichigo as the followed Kisuke down into his hidden training room. She had sensed it the same time that Urahara did. A strange energy lingering nearby. He had asked her if she recognized it before the joined the others. There was something familiar about it but it was so faint that she couldn't be sure. That was the reason Urahara had led them down here. He had explained that his training room was completely invisible to the outside world. Once inside, no one would be able to see or hear them.

She was completely amazed by what awaited her at the bottom of the impossibly long ladder. She gasped looking around at what seemed like miles and miles of endless dessert and rock. "Wow…" she breathed. "Are we still under your shop?"

"Sort of. No time to explain. Let's get down to business shall we?" Urahara said as Uryu and Ichigo joined them on the ground.

"Do you ever just answer a question straight out?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied simply, quirky smile in place.

She laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. She was quickly becoming fond of the handsome self- proclaimed shop keeper. Even though most of their time spent together so far was in absolute silence as he and Tessai worked, she had finally been able to see his slate grey eyes and found kindness there… and maybe a little sadness too. From what Uryu had told her about him, she knew he'd done things that he deeply regretted and she could sympathize with that more than anyone knew.

"So what did you find out?" Ichigo asked as he wiped his sweaty hands off on his pants. He was more than a little bothered by being here again after all this time. A whirlwind of memories assaulted him in this place. It reminded him of just how powerless he was now.

Urahara placed a hand on Jazz's shoulder. "First I'd like Jasmine to try something for me. Materialize your spirit bow. You don't have to fire an arrow. Just show me your bow. I've heard it's quite impressive."

Jazz looked at him, questioning his intentions with her eyes but shrugged and stepped forward. "It's not that special. Just kind of big, I guess." She reached behind her neck and unfastened the necklace that held her cross, leaving the heavy chain that held her father's in place. Wrapping the necklace around her wrist and securing it with the clasp so that it hung like a bracelet, she took a deep breath. "Let me see if I remember how to do this." She mumbled. Extending her hands in an archers pose, she exhaled. A faint flicker of pale blue sparked outward from the cross but fizzled out like a dying flame. She tried again… Inhale. Concentrate. Exhale… Nothing. She fought back tears as she turned back to look at her waiting audience.

"Just as I thought. It seems that something is fighting to hold the barrier on Jasmine's powers. Every time we felt like we had it removed, it would begin to build itself back up again. I don't think I have to explain how dangerous that is for her. Her energy has grown exponentially and needs an outlet. It could literally break her soul apart if the barrier is left in place. Uryu, have you ever encountered a method known as Siegel der Seele?" Urahara asked turning his back to them.

"A Soul Seal? Yeah, it's a complicated method using liquefied reishi… I'm not sure how it works. It was outlawed by the elders 200 years ago. You're not saying someone used a Soul Seal on Jasmine, are you?"

Urahara turned to them again. "Yes, this Siegel der Seele, or Soul Seal, is the only thing that could have done this. It separates the soul from one's power. I wonder… liquefied reishi, you say?" He scratched his head then his whole face lit up. "If a person were to dip something in this liquefied reishi, something like a necklace or a pendant, would it not create the seal for the wearer?"

Uryu was starting catch on. He walked slowly over to Jasmine and reached down to her wrist, cradling her cross in the palm of his hand. He ran his thumb over the cross that looked so much like his own had once but much more tarnished. It had lost all of its shine. Quincy Crosses were never supposed to look like this. "Jazz, have you ever removed this? Even once, even after you lost your powers?"

"No... Aria would have killed me. She said it was a symbol of pride and that I should never…" Jazz's heart nearly stopped. Aria! "It was in my cross? And my own sister knew? Did she do this? That bitch!" She snatched the pendant out of Uryu's hand and yanked on it as hard as she could. The chain snapped, sending the silver cross tumbling into the sand at her feet. Something coursed through her. Electricity seemed to radiate out from her chest and through her arms and legs. She quickly undid her father's pentacle cross from her neck and wrapped it around her wrist in the same manner she had with her own. Stepping out in front of everyone, she drew her arms up, and this time a massive jolt of bright blue light emerged and formed into a thin bow the length of her body and intricate swirls of white encompassed her hands. She didn't even have to concentrate. It was easy as breathing. She fired off arrow after arrow, faster than she'd ever been able to do before. With one final draw, she unleashed a devastating volley of arrows into the sky. As they arced up then began to fall, they resembled a million streams of light falling like rain in the distance.

She lowered her bow and let it dissipate before she turned around. Kisuke naturally wore an unsurprised grin. Ichigo's eyes were as wide as his smile, and she felt herself smiling back at him with pride. Uryu though, simply stared. Her smile slipped from her face as she walked toward him.

"Well," he said stepping up to meet her, "that was impressive." The corner of his mouth turned up in an almost smile.

She laughed and hugged him tight. Uryu had been there for her through every single moment of weakness and had never abandoned her. No matter what, he'd treated her exactly the same as he always had. She was so happy that he was here to see what she'd just done. It was more than just getting her powers back or being able to shoot an arrow or two. It was repairing her damaged pride; healing her broken soul. And… as always, the one person who had been by her side since they were old enough to walk was here with her in this moment. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she pulled away to look at him. "Thank you… for everything. I love you, Uryu."

"I… I love you, too." Uryu's heart ached. He knew that Jazz loved him and in that moment, he realized that he loved her, but not in the same way. He was, without a doubt, in love with her and there was nothing he could do about it… because she was in love with Ichigo. He sighed. "I am so proud of you." He told her as he pulled her back in for another hug. "But, by the way… that was my move you stole." He whispered.

She laughed again in his ear, sending chills down his spine. "The rain of arrows? I know it's yours. I just wanted to try it."

He released her after another tight squeeze and struggled against the feeling that it might be the last chance he'd ever have to hold her like that. "For your information, it's called Licht Regen." He said, trying to reign in his emotions with his usual know it all mask but failed miserably when he looked into her eyes. "Fuck it! It looks better when you do it."

Jasmine laughed hysterically at Uryu. It wasn't often she heard him use words like that. She kissed him on the cheek and turned to Ichigo who engulfed her in his arms.

"That was amazing, babe!" He said, picking her up off of her feet and swinging her around in a circle.

Uryu watched the two lovers and tried his best to ignore the pain in his chest. He was happy for Jasmine, really he was, but his heart was breaking in two. So this is what it feels like to fall in love. He laughed bitterly to himself. It wasn't exactly how he'd always pictured it. It didn't matter how he felt, though. Ichigo was a good person with a good heart and he loved Jazz as much as she loved him. Uryu could see it every time they looked at each other. He would set his feelings aside so that Jasmine could be happy, and so she could be safe. He knew that he had to help them run away from Karakura Town, the sooner the better.

 **A/N: Poor Uryu! What did you guys think? Leave me a little feedback and let me know. What are some of your favorite moments in the story so far? What parts didn't you like? What would you like to see happen? Just let me know you're all still around! Lol. Just prepare yourselves, the last few chapters maybe a bit of an emotional rollercoaster… Not giving anything away. Just sayin' XD. Love Ya'll!**


	12. The Calm Before

**A/N: Hey guys! I know, I know… late update. I am so sorry. I have been writing like crazy on this for the last couple of days. Chapter 13 is typed up and ready for beta and I have the last three chapters in first draft form. (And by that I mean they're scribbled on loose notebook paper with a #2 pencil and stacked on my desk waiting to be typed.) I hope everyone who has been following this story won't hate me too much for the last couple of "drag by" chapters. I promise that is changing very soon. This plot is about to get ten different kinds of crazy! Just… not yet. Lol.**

 _ **WARNING:**_ **There are some very detailed lemony good parts at the end of the chapter. You have been warned. If you proceed past the point of no return, I don't know what to tell ya. Except maybe… On with the story! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE CALM BEFORE

Ichigo could not have been more proud of Jasmine in that moment. Not because of the spectacular display of power he'd just witnessed, though it was very impressive, but because of the way he knew Jazz must have been feeling. He could see it in her smile and hear it in her laughter as he picked her up and spun her around. She was happy. She felt whole. He could see the light in her eyes like he'd never seen it before. He couldn't believe that the painfully shy girl who'd literally stumbled into his life that day was the same beautiful, confident woman he held in his arms now. Their awkward and comical first meeting had been barely a week ago but it was as if he'd know her for a lifetime and he felt like he'd loved her for twice as long. He didn't understand how he could have fallen so hard, so fast but it didn't really matter. Ichigo knew he would love her for as many lifetimes as time itself would allow.

He eased his hold on her enough for her to turn in his arms and face the others as she leaned back into his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head and thought of how nice it would be if he could stay like this forever.

"As great as that felt," Jazz said with a sigh, "I still have a few more questions."

"And I still have a few more answers." Urahara said in a sing-song voice.

If she didn't like the silly fool so much, Jasmine might have been annoyed. Instead she just smiled at him and shook her head. "For starters, if my own cross was holding back my power, why did it reemerge when it did? I was still wearing it around my neck at the time."

Urahara scratched his chin in thought before answering. "I think that when Uryu gave you your father's cross it must have weakened the Soul Seal, but what were you doing exactly when your powers awakened?"

Jazz blushed furiously. The memory of pinning Ichigo to a tree and kissing him with wild abandon shot through her mind. She glanced up to see that he had a light dusting of pink spreading across his cheeks. She cleared her throat and looked down at her feet. "I was… um… talking to Ichigo… in the gardens."

Urahara smiled knowingly. "I see. Well, it seems that a surge of emotion is what did it. Much like how Chad and Orihime awakened their abilities initially. Even Ichigo relied heavily on emotion to boost his powers."

"Hold on, that doesn't make sense. They are not Quincies! That's not how things work with us!" Uryu interjected.

"Oh? Can you think of some other explanation?" Urahara asked pointedly.

"It makes perfect sense to me. My moods have always affected my spiritual energy. I think Kisuke is on to something there." Jasmine told Uryu. He finally nodded in agreement.

"So it was kind of my fault." Ichigo mumbled then kissed Jazz on the temple. "You're welcome." He joked.

She giggled and snuggled closer to him as Uryu rolled his eyes.

"Okay, fine. So now what? Jazz has her power back but we still have to deal with Aria and the evil twins." Uryu said, growing tired of watching their little love fest.

"Haven't you boys already come up with a solution? I suggest that you explain quickly. If Jasmine's sister is the one behind all of this, she may not hesitate in trying again and I'm not sure that Jazz's soul can withstand anything else." Kisuke said, suddenly becoming serious.

"You're right." Ichigo said before turning Jazz around to look her in the eyes. "Jazz, I know this is going to sound crazy but I think we should get out of Karakura Town for a while. Just until your birthday. We'll be together, you won't have to marry anyone until you're ready, and you'll be safe from Aria or whoever it is that's trying to hurt you, I swear it!"

Jasmine thought for a moment about what Ichigo had said, then looked down at her feet, she wasn't sure what to do. It seemed like a great idea. They could hide somewhere that no one would find them and to be able to be with Ichigo all of the time and not have to sneak around to do it. It sounded like a fantasy. But it wasn't like they would be going on some sweet little vacation. They were running away. Ichigo would be leaving his friends and his family for her. She sighed quietly and started to fidget with her fingernails.

"You don't have to do that, Ichigo." She said in a hushed tone, still not looking up from her feet. "I can go somewhere… alone."

Ichigo put his hands across his chest and waited patiently for her to finally look up at him before frowning softly. "Jazz, for the last couple of years, I have done nothing but protect those around me. That was my primary goal. I put everything on the line for my friends, my family, the soul society, hell… even the whole living world. But you… you don't need my protection at all. I mean, did you see what you did earlier? You should be protecting me!" He laughed a little when she gave him a weak smile. "The point I'm trying to make is, I know I don't have to go with you but… I want to. Maybe I'm being selfish for the first time in a long time, but I won't let you go without me."

"That's all great and wonderful. Everybody's happy. Now can we figure out how to get you two out of town without anyone knowing please? I've got a pretty uneasy feeling about this whole thing and I think the sooner you guys are gone, the better." Uryu spoke, interrupting the tender moment.

After what seemed like an eternity of planning, Jasmine had finally made it back up the ridiculously long ladder from the underground training room, had said her goodbyes to Tessai and Kisuke, and was now sitting on the ground outside the shop door watching the storm clouds building in the sky. Ichigo and Uryu were still inside talking. She wasn't crazy about the fact that it would be raining again very soon. It would make leaving town feel more like a real goodbye. There wasn't much for her in Karakura, but she'd miss it just the same. She'd miss Uryu. He was her best friend and the only person she'd been able to talk to since her father died. And though they'd only just met, she'd miss Kisuke and Tessai. She might even miss all of her noisy boisterous classmates despite how much she'd tried to avoid getting to know any of them.

Ichigo's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her wondering thoughts. "You ready?" he asked her gently.

She looked up at him and nodded then scrambled to her feet. Uryu was there in an instant to help her up. "Thanks" she smiled at her friend.

On the walk back to Ichigo's place, she let her thoughts begin to wonder again. They had decided that they shouldn't leave town at the exact same time to avoid suspicion. Ichigo would leave the next morning at dawn and Uryu would bring her to him as soon as he called and told them where to meet him. Neither one of the boys wanted her to be alone until then, so she would be staying with Ichigo that night and Uryu would come and pick her up at dawn to bring her back to her house so that she could pack whatever she thought she needed for the next couple of months, then he wasn't supposed leave her side until she was safely reunited with Ichigo.

She still wasn't entirely sure where they were going to go, but Ichigo seemed to have a fairly good place in mind so she didn't ask too many questions. They would be together in this. That's all that really mattered to her. "Are you sure your Dad won't mind me staying with you tonight? It'll be a little hard to explain why it's so important."

"It's fine, Jazz. Dad and the girls went to Tokyo this weekend. They won't be back until tomorrow and by then, we'll be long gone." Ichigo said without looking up. He'd been pretty quiet since they'd left Urahara's. He hadn't meant to be, but there was a storm brewing over head and he'd never liked the rain.

"Do you think we should leave them a note? Maybe we could at least tell your family why we're leaving so they won't think something bad happened to you. " Guilt made tears start to sting her eyes. She had been so happy that Ichigo wanted to be with her, on their own together, for two whole months that she hadn't even thought about how much his family would miss him. If he didn't leave them some kind of clue, they'd be worried sick. Jazz suddenly felt very selfish.

"No… it's better if no one knows just yet." Ichigo gave her a sidelong glance and sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I just don't want to take any risks. I'll call Dad whenever we get settled somewhere so he doesn't freak out and call the cops or something."

They had taken a longer route home than Ichigo usually would have, but he was trying to avoid walking directly in front of Jasmine's house to get to his own. He hurried with the front door lock and ushered her inside as quickly as possible. Once the door was shut behind them, he relaxed and threw his house keys onto the counter on his way to the kitchen.

"You hungry?" He called back to Jazz as he opened the refrigerator and poked his head inside. "Yuzu put all kinds of stuff in here for me before they left but if none of it looks good to you, I can whip up a mean bowl of cereal…" He started to tease as he turned around to Jazz but when he saw the odd look on her face, he shut the fridge and went to her. He wrapped her in his arms and pressed his lips to her earlobe. "What's wrong, babe?"

Jazz leaned against him and shut her eyes. "I'm just a little worried. I don't want your family to hate me for taking you away. I don't want to cause them pain, and I don't want you to be unhappy because you aren't with them." She pulled him closer to her and rested her head on his chest.

"I never knew my mother, Ichigo. She left us right after I was born. When my Dad died, Aria started treating my like I was some horrid family secret. I thought it was because she blamed me for our father's death. I didn't have a real family after that. I used to dream about having a family like yours where everybody loved each other and everyone was just… happy. I don't want to mess that up for you."

Ichigo held her tight as she talked. He thought about how he'd blamed himself for his mother's death for so long and how he'd secretly wanted someone else to blame him, too. Now, he could see through Jasmine's pain how awful it would have been if his own family had blamed him.

Even with all that going through her mind and everything she'd been through in the past few days, she was concerned about him and his family. His heart did an odd flip in his chest. Jasmine never ceased to amaze him or remind him of just why he'd fallen for her instantly.

"I'm sorry that you went through all of that. You won't ever have to feel that way again. As for my family, I told you, I'll call and talk to Dad when we get to where we're going. He won't like it, but he'll understand… and NO ONE is going to hate you!" He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "My family already loves you…. and I love you. Two months away won't change that."

"But…"Jasmine started to argue but Ichigo stopped her with another kiss. This one, a little less gentle than the last.

He looked into her dark blue eyes and smiled. "If you aren't hungry, maybe we should go to bed, huh? We've got a big day tomorrow and I don't know about you, but I didn't get much sleep last night." He said with a wink.

Jazz felt herself blushing but this time she did nothing to try and hide it. She smiled and stood on her tip-toes so that she could reach and kissed his forehead. "I think going to bed sounds like the best plan I've heard all day." Jasmine tried to turn and head toward the stairs but Ichigo caught her hand and quickly pulled her back to him. He kissed her deeply and hungrily this time, stealing her breath and sending shivers up and down her spine. She kissed him back with as much ferocity as he'd shown her, twisting one hand through the back of his hair and lifting his shirt up so that she could feel his warm toned skin with the other.

Ichigo growled into her mouth and slid both hands down to her hips, then lifted her small frame with ease. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, freeing his hands to roam up her back and into her braided hair. He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist and with the other hand removed her hair tie and combed the braid loose with his fingers. He continued to kiss her, reveling in the feeling of her tongue intertwining with his as he began to carry her into the living room. He didn't want to waste time carrying her upstairs to his bed just yet. The couch would have to do.

He lowered himself onto the sofa and Jazz unwrapped her legs from around his waist and straddled his lap. She made quick work of removing his shirt, only separating their lips long enough to pull the shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. As her fingers fumbled with the buttons on Ichigo's jeans, he hiked her skirt up around her hips and began to feel his way past the silk panties separating his fingers from her warm flesh.

Jazz cried out when he slipped his finger inside and began to rub against her clit with his thumb. "Ichigo! Oh…god..." She moaned against his lips, finally managing to undo all of the buttons on his jeans. She could feel the warm solid length of him pressing against her hand through his boxers and that alone was almost enough to send her reeling over the edge… almost. She lifted up on her knees as he wriggled free from the bottom half of his clothing then quickly pulled her back down to him. He slid her panties to one side and lifted his hips just enough to grind himself against her. Jasmine moaned softly as she gripped his shoulders. His touch was light as a feather and yet somehow still demanding while he slowly peeled off her shirt and removed her bra.

Ichigo's mouth quickly found the rise of her full breasts and he bit and sucked at each hardening nipple and teased them with his tongue. He couldn't get enough of the way she tasted or the way she moaned and sighed with his every touch. He loved the sounds she made for him as much as he loved the way her skin felt against his own. He let his hands trail lower and lower until he was gripping her ass and pulling her against him. The friction of their bodies rubbing against each other felt incredible but he wanted more. He wanted to feel himself inside her and hear her call his name.

He lifted her up on her knees again. With only a minor stumble or two and a few awkward giggles, he removed her panties and skirt and helped her settle back down to straddle him. She positioned herself above him and he slowly lifted his hips as she lowered herself down. The intense heat of her engulfed him and he let out a low breathy groan.

"God... Jazz... Nnnng!" She was so tight and warm, and seemed to fit around him so perfectly. He had to concentrate on his breathing to keep from coming undone already.

Jazz watched Ichigo's eyes close and his jaw tense then go lax again. He licked his lips... slowly... rapturously... he would drive her mad with that tongue one day, she just knew it. She raised herself up just enough to feel the wonderful sensation of Ichigo slide almost out, then she lowered down again, making them both gasp.

She began rocking her hips up and down, back and forth, in a slow and steady rhythm, savoring the friction it was causing inside her. Ichigo was breathing hard with each movement of her hips and had grasped her thighs tightly with both hands.

She was driving him completely insane with the slow and sinful movements of her body. Ichigo could hardly stand anymore even if it felt so unbelievably good. He slid his hands up from her thighs and grabbed her hips firmly. Ichigo held her hips still in a strong grip and thrust upward, pulling her down onto him as far as he could. Without any further thought, he followed with another hard thrust then another. Each time, challenging himself to go deeper... harder... faster.

Suddenly, Jazz squirmed free and laid herself out on the sofa, crooking a finger at him in invitation. He smiled at her and obliged. He sank back into her and resumed the hard deep rhythmic thrusts, even faster now that he had better leverage. She was beautiful… just like this. Hair a mess, mouth open, eyes squeezed shut, and a look of pure pleasure written across her features. Something primal surged up inside of him. Jazz was his, tonight and every night from now on. He felt the need to prove it to the world... to her. Right now!

"You are mine," he growled, thrusting into her, with a new found possessiveness. She screamed in pleasure and her eyes shot open. "Mine," he swore again then turned her around on her stomach. He pulled her hips back and yanked her legs into position so she was on her hands and knees. He pressed one hand hard against her back, the other gripped her hip. Pushing back inside with a hitched breath, he continued on with full, hard thrusts, at such a pounding speed, he was causing her breasts to bounce delightfully. The mirror on the wall behind the couch gave him a full view. He could see himself as well and the intensity in his face. His reflection pulled at her hair, tilting her head back, and he found her eyes on his in the mirror.

"Nnnng! Yes! I'm yours, Ichigo!" She cried as she held Ichigo's gaze. "Always... yours." She watched their reflections intently. His lithe muscular body seemed to dominate her smaller frame as he slammed into her over and over. Her body seemed to vibrate as an electric wave of pleasure shot through her. She felt every inch of Ichigo's hardness inside of her as her body clenched and quivered around him. Her legs and arms couldn't hold her up right anymore and she crashed forward, Ichigo following with her, never faltering. Every nerve began to simultaneously ignite and explode with pleasure as her orgasm continued to rock her to her core. She screamed his name until her voice was dry and ragged, offering everything she had to him as she tumbled over the edge.

Ichigo could no longer say what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that he was hers, too. That he would always be hers. Heart, soul, and body... but his mouth and his mind had disconnected from each other the second she screamed his name. He could feel her tighten and convulse around him and his rhythm became unsteady. He felt his release building, slow and steady. Like the coiling of a snake, ready to strike. Then it surged through him, all at once, a strong burst of ecstasy that curled his toes and arched his back, driving him further into Jazz one last time before he exploded inside of her.

He collapsed on top of her, completely spent, and now wishing they'd actually made it upstairs to his bed. After a few moments, he rolled over, curled up next to her, and grinned. "I could so get used to that... every night." He said, finally starting to catch his breath.

Jazz rolled onto her side and gave him a quirky smile. "Yeah, yeah. It was okay... I guess."

"Just okay?" He asked, pushing his bottom lip out in an over dramatized pout, pretending to be hurt by her teasing.

She giggled and kissed the protruding lip and then the tip of his nose. "Alright, so _maybe_ it was a little better than okay..."

"Is that right?" Ichigo rolled over on top of her and tickled her sides until she was laughing and screaming that she gave up. Then, he captured her arms and pinned them above her head. "Ya know," he said as he kissed down the side of her neck, "Practice makes perfect."

Jasmine bit her lip and hummed appreciatively. "Hmmm, practice sounds promising... but Ichigo? Can we take it up stairs?"

Ichigo chuckled and smiled down at her. "Anything you want, my Jasmine."

She looked into those beautiful brown eyes and swore she felt her heart melt into a gelatinous goo. "I love you, my Ichigo."

"I love you, too." He whispered into her ear. He gave her a small sweet kiss then stood, helping her up off of the couch. He started gathering their discarded clothing as she grabbed his abandoned tee shirt and slipped it on, then headed up to his room.

Ichigo watched her walk up the stairs and laughed to himself. She looked awfully damn cute in his shirt. "Yeah, I could definitely get used to this."

 **A/N: Well, there ya have it. Chapter 12. Stay tuned because things are about to get wild! Only three more chapters to go until we are through. It's kind of bittersweet for me. I've learned a lot about writing stories chapter by chapter… mostly that it isn't the greatest idea for me. Lol. After I finish Dream a Little Dream, I think I'm going to make sure I have a story written beginning to end before I even post the first chapter. There were so many little details I wish I could go back and add in or take away from the previous chapters but once it's up… it's there. Somebody's already read it and you can't just go back and change the story on your readers. Ah, well. Lesson learned. Go ahead and leave a review with your very best guesses on where you think the story is going. I am really interested to see if my big twist is more obvious than I thought! Anyway, that's enough rambling from me for now. I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Love Ya'll!**


	13. Box Full of Secrets

**A/N: Sorry about the slightly late upload. Having internet issues. Thank you so much (AGAIN) to AliceLovesCakes for beta reading this chapter. Just a little warning, it gets dark… fast! If you are sensitive to abuse of any kind, please read with caution. Enjoy and Love Ya'll!**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Box Full of Secrets

Ichigo awoke to the sound of thunder. He felt Jazz curled firmly against his side and for a brief moment the world seemed perfect despite the sound of the wind and pouring rain outside his window. He blindly reached for his cell phone on his nightstand and squinted at the screen. Almost dawn. Ishida would be there in just a little while to take Jasmine home to pack and he would be off to the bus station.

He silently thanked whatever gods might be listening that he had money saved up from his job and all the odd things he'd been doing at school. If it wasn't for that, he had no idea how they'd make it for the next couple of months. That money was supposed to help with his college tuition but he would figure that out when the time came.

He rolled over and wrapped Jazz in his arms and kissed her softly on the temple. Her hair was still a little damp from the shower they'd taken together last night and it smelled faintly of his shampoo. For some goofy reason, that made him smile. He liked the thought of her smelling like him.

She stirred slightly and groaned, nuzzling her head under his chin. "Please tell me it's not morning." She said, voice slightly raspy from sleep.

Ichigo smiled and hugged her close. "I wish I could, but we have to get up. Ishida will be here soon."

"I don't want to get up!" She whined. "Promise that when we get to… where ever, we can spend a whole day just lying in bed. I feel like I haven't slept in a week."

He definitely knew the feeling. Ichigo felt like he could sleep for another twelve hours and still be tired when he got up. Who knew making love was so exhausting? He stifled a laugh at his own thoughts and sat up. He started crawling out of bed only to be stopped by Jazz who had wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head in his lap. He laughed at her as he swept curls of hair off of her face and tucked them behind her ear. "Come on, babe. We have to get moving."

"I want to tell you something first." She said, moving so that she could look up at him.

The seriousness in her eyes caught Ichigo off guard. He reached over and flipped on the lamp and studied her face. "You can tell me anything, Jazz."

"I… I had a strange dream last night. I was walking with my Dad in a place I've never seen before but somehow I just… I knew where we were. It's not the first time I've had that dream."

"Okay…" Ichigo said. He wasn't sure why a dream was so important but it was to Jasmine, so he'd give her his full attention.

"Ichigo… what does the Soul Society look like?" She asked quietly, looking past him to a spot on the ceiling.

"It… uh… it depends on exactly where you are in it. There are some districts that are poor and crowded… and violent. There are districts closer the Seireitei that are peaceful and quaint. Then, there are the places where the royals live. That's the really nice places for the most part." He caught himself rambling and cleared his throat. "Is that where you were with your Dad in the dream? The Soul Society?"

"I think so. We were on this big plateau with a really tall white tower overlooking it. It gave me the creeps in a way. When we stood close to the edge, I could see for what seemed like forever. There were old world style buildings with white banners and black symbols and smaller buildings surrounding the bigger ones… the Thirteen Court Guards Barracks, right? I don't know how I know that. I just do." She shook her head and sat up, facing Ichigo, and crossed her legs underneath her.

"That's definitely the Soul Society. The Seireitei, actually. Wait, you were on a… plateau… on top of a hill? Sōkyoku Hill? No wonder you were creeped out. That's an execution site. I've fought there more times than I'd like to remember."

Jazz looked at him in disbelief for a moment then lowered her eyes. "You know what's really weird? Maybe it just proves how messed up I am, but it doesn't really bother me that I'm dreaming about a place I couldn't possibly know that much about." She took a deep breath and looked back up at Ichigo. "What I really want to know is… why would my father be there?"

"He's a human soul. Quincy or not. The Soul Society is where human souls go when they die… So Quincies too I guess. That's where they go… I think. I don't know. I guess I should have paid a little more attention to Rukia's drawings." He offered her a sideways smile and shrugged.

She smiled sadly. "Have you ever seen a Quincy in the Soul Society? Oh, Ichigo I just don't know. I was unconscious when my Dad died. I don't know if his soul was devoured. Maybe he just died from injuries but his soul was unharmed. I don't know if that even matters because I have no idea if Quincies can even enter the Soul Society." She put her face in her hands to control the oncoming freak out before it got any worse. Why'd she have to have that dream now when she had so much other stuff to worry about?

Ichigo didn't know what to say. He really had not seen a single Quincy in all of the time he'd spent in the Soul Society but he hadn't went around asking every soul there what supernatural race of human they belonged to in their former life, either.

The thought had never occurred to him before now. Maybe there weren't any Quincies in the Soul Society. Maybe they passed straight on into the cycle of rebirth. That wouldn't make sense though. They were human souls! They would be sent to the Soul Society just like any other human soul, right? He was starting to understand Jasmine's frustration with the subject but he knew that she needed his reassurance right now more than anything.

"Baby, listen to me." Ichigo took Jazz's hands in his and pulled them away from her face. "I believe with all of my heart that Quincy souls are sent to the Soul Society. And your father… I won't make you any empty promises because neither of us know what happened to his soul. I will promise you that I'll help you try and find out. Maybe my Dad can tell you more about what happened after you passed out. He was there. Maybe he can remember." He ran his fingers through her hair then wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Those dreams of yours… they have to mean something, Jazz. Maybe he's there waiting for you. He's just been trying to let you know where to find him. Who knows? Maybe we can get ole' Hat and Clogs to let you go and see for yourself sometime. Well… on second thought, you'd have to get permission from the Head Captain. Going in uninvited isn't exactly a good idea. Trust me."

She laughed out loud at the goofy smile on Ichigo's face. She knew about Ichigo and Uryu and the others making their grand uninvited entrance into the Soul Society when they had gone to save Rukia and she was glad that it had ended like it did, or else Ichigo may not have been here to joke about it. She also knew getting permission from the Head Captain was probably completely out of the question but she appreciated his effort to cheer her up.

Just then, little tendrils of spiritual pressure snaked its way into her awareness. It felt cool and crisp, cold but not uncomfortably so. Like the sun coming out on a chilly winter morning. Like… mint ice cream. She busted out in a fit of giggles. It was Uryu's reiatsu. He used to get insanely mad at her for comparing his spiritual signature to mint ice cream. She looked at Ichigo who was giving her a look that plainly said he thought she'd lost her mind but he was too nice to point it out. She put her hands over her mouth to try and stifle her sudden outburst but couldn't contain it. She just kept picturing Uryu's face when they were kids every time she'd say something about his reiatsu. He'd get solemn and pouty then push his glasses back up his nose, put his hands on his hips, and say "Oh yeah? Well at least mine doesn't make people wanna wear sunscreen!" He wasn't the best with witty comebacks then but he'd gotten better at it with age. He'd called her many things over the years because of the feeling her weird reiatsu gave off… hot head, the human torch, blaze… the list could go on forever. That is, until she learned some control over it from her father. Then, Uryu didn't have anything mean to say about it anymore. He'd even told her that he liked it once or twice… that it was like a cool breeze in the middle of summer… or something like that.

She explained to Ichigo what exactly she was laughing about when she regained her composure. At first, he just looked at her strangely, then a small smile tugged at his lips and he began to laugh too before realizing that what she was saying meant that Ishida was close. He wasn't ready to let her go just yet, but he reminded himself that it was only for a few hours then he'd see her again.

They both begrudgingly crawled out of bed, dressed, and got ready to face the morning ahead. Jasmine was nervous. She could hardly stay still. She walked with Ichigo downstairs and waited by the door for Uryu. She couldn't help but pace back and forth until there was a knock at the door. Despite sensing his reiatsu drawing nearer, Uryu's knocking had made her jump. Ichigo rubbed her shoulders briefly to settle her nerves before opening the door.

Uryu's face did not hide his feelings very well. Jazz mentally compared it to the little grumpy cat on her favorite pajamas, holding a coffee cup that read "I don't do mornings".

"Good morning, Uryu!" She plastered on her brightest smile and tried her best to seem bubbly, knowing full well it would drive her friend bonkers. He didn't deal well with happy people in general. Especially not first thing in the morning.

Uryu glared at Jasmine, looking somewhat like a drowned rat. The rain had slowed from a down pour to a drizzle but it was still steadily coming down. "Why are you all sunshine and rainbows? Scratch that… I don't really care to hear about what you've been doing. Are you ready to go?"

"Oh come on, Ishida. Smile a little bit. It's a beautiful morning!" Ichigo chimed in, catching on to what Jazz was doing. Thunder rolled somewhere in the distance and Ichigo glanced up at the dark and cloudy sky. "Alright… so _beautiful_ might be too strong of a word."

Uryu offered half a smile then told Jazz he'd be waiting in the car. He handed her an umbrella and ran back out to the street. Jazz watched him climb into the driver's seat and shut the door before turning back to Ichigo. She took a deep breath and smiled nervously. "So… I'll see you in a little while." She said, straightening the collar of his hoodie. It was already straight, but she just felt like she needed something to do with her hands. She was never any good with goodbyes. This was only temporary… just for a few hours. So why was she acting like a scared little kitten with him all over again?

"Yeah… I'll see you soon." Ichigo mumbled behind an awkward smile, making it obvious that Jazz wasn't the only one who was nervous. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly, sweeping her up off of her feet for just a moment, before setting her back down. "I love you." He whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you, too." She whispered back then pecked him on the tip of his nose.

They slowly released each other and she waved as she turned to leave, fumbling with the umbrella. She'd made it almost all the way to the car before it flew open causing her to yelp in surprise. She turned back and smiled at Ichigo again, shrugging and pointing at the umbrella.

He laughed and waved as she climbed into the passenger seat of what Ichigo guessed was Uryu's father's car. "I wonder what he pulled to get Ryuken's keys." He muttered to himself. He stood in the door watching until Jazz and Ishida pulled in to her driveway down the street. Ichigo didn't see Aria's car in the drive from where he stood and he prayed that they could get her all packed up and safely out of there before anyone even noticed she'd been home.

Jasmine collapsed on her bed in the middle of a huge pile of her clothes. "I don't know where it could be. I've always kept it in my closet and now it's not there! How the hell am I supposed to pack with no luggage?"

"Calm down, Jazz. Just throw everything in a trash bag or something." Uryu said from across the room. He'd long since given up on helping her. She was in one of her freak out moods and nothing he could say or do would be right, so he hadn't been bothering to try.

She glared in his direction. "A trash bag? Urrrg! Maybe that'll work but… damn it! I want my luggage! Hey! I bet that kleptomaniac Kasha got it! I'll go look." She said jumping up off the bed.

"No, I'll go look. You stay here and fold… all this." Uryu said, gesturing to the massive pile of clothing on Jasmine's bed.

"Thank you!" She called after him as he headed down the hall.

"Thank you…" he mocked quietly once he was out of ear shot. Damn, but her little freak outs could be annoying! Not to mention that he was already in a foul mood because of the whole being in love with his best friend thing. The same best friend that he was helping pack so she could run away with Ichigo Kurosaki.

He walked into the first guest room down the hall and rummaged around. Kasha truly did have a bad case of sticky fingers. There were bobbles and odds and ends hidden in every nook and cranny and Uryu was almost certain that not a one of them had actually belonged to Kasha originally. Not a single piece of luggage anywhere, though.

He started back up the hall, but had a brief thought that maybe she'd hidden it in Kean's room. He made his way to the second guest room and was surprised to find it completely ransacked. It looked as if a tornado had dropped down right in the center of the room. "I didn't know Kean was such a slob." He mumbled aloud as he poked through the piles of clothes and bags laying haphazardly around the room.

"What?" Jazz called from down the hall.

"I said, I didn't… never mind. What color is your luggage?" He called back. Stepping over the clutter, he walked across the room and opened the closet door.

"White!" Jazz screamed at him.

"Okay…" he said looking up at the top shelf. He spotted a large white suitcase pushed to the very back. "Found it!" He yelled in Jazz's direction. He could just barely reach the bag, even standing on his tiptoes. He skootched it as close to the edge of the shelf as he could then reached up and pulled. Down came the suitcase along with several other items that he hadn't seen on the shelf. He picked them up one by one and began to put them back where they were. Not that Kean would actually notice anything being out of place in this mess.

The first was a picture frame Uryu was sure he'd seen before. On closer inspection, he realized that it was the picture that Jazz used to keep by her bed of her and her father. The second item that fell looked like some kind of scrap book. Curiosity got the best of him. He opened it up and immediately wished he hadn't.

Every single page was full of pictures of teenagers, boys and girls alike, probably no older than Uryu, all in compromising positions, and all of them looked to be passed out cold. Some were wearing clothes… just barely… but were laid out with their legs splayed open, hands positioned to look like they were touching themselves. Some were naked and exposed to the camera in ways that would make a playboy bunny blush. He could plainly see these pictures were in chronological order and with each turn of a page, the sicker and more twisted the photographs became. The last few pages made his stomach turn. The people pictured were bound and gagged, eyes wide open in terror. The hands that touched them in these photographs were not their own. They were the photographer's. They were Kean's. "Sick fuck!" Uryu gasped, slamming the scrapbook shut and sliding it back onto the shelf. He'd get Jazz out of here first and then he'd figure out what to do about that disgusting excuse for a man.

He bent down to pick up the last thing that had fallen. A small wooden box. The lid had fallen open when it hit the ground and inside were more pictures. Uryu froze. He really didn't want to see what those pictures had to show.

His hand shook as he reached inside and pulled out a stack of Polaroid pictures tied with a red ribbon. He untied the ribbon with and stared at the top picture. The girl shown was around ten, twelve at the oldest. She was sound asleep in her bed. Someone had pulled the covers back off of her body before taking the picture. There were more like this, one after another. The girl aged progressively in every few photos. Always the same. Always sleeping, fully clothed but covers removed.

As Uryu came to the bottom pictures in the stack, he was having to blink away unshed tears in order to see properly. The girl, maybe fourteen years old, sat in the middle of her bed smiling for the camera… in the next one, she was blowing the camera a kiss… the next, posing sweetly and innocently, but her nightshirt was unbuttoned… each of the last pictures showed the girl digressing into a willing participant in Kean's sick game… the very last picture… Uryu's breath caught in his throat and he made a choking muted noise as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. The young girl with dark blue eyes and auburn hair, was lying naked in her bed and staring dazedly into the camera. Glossed over eyes full of fear and regret. A slender blonde man was lying next to her, fondling a bare breast with one hand while the other gripped the girl's chin so hard, Uryu could see the ivory skin beneath the fingers turning a sickly shade of blue. Kean had done this to… to Jasmine!

Jasmine had finally finished folding the last of her clothes and was about to call out for Uryu to see what was taking so long when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was Ichigo. Already? It had just barely been more than an hour since she'd left his house.

"Uryu! We gotta go. Ichigo's calling!" She yelled down the hall as she pushed accept on the call. "That was quick." She said into the phone. "We must not be going far."

"You're so right, my little Ju'oh. You aren't going very far at all."

Jazz felt sick instantly. She jerked the phone away from her ear and checked the contact info again. "Kean? What the hell are you doing with Ichigo's phone? Where is he?"

"Oh, he's right here, with me. He's quite the catch, Jasmine. I bet he's a lot of fun, isn't he? I may have to see for myself, before I cut out his tongue." Kean purred. Jasmine heard a muffled scream and Kean laughed maniacally.

"No! Kean… please! Please, don't hurt him!" Jazz begged, already in tears. She could feel her world crashing down around her. She was a sinking ship and now she was going to take Ichigo down with her. All because she'd been too afraid of anyone finding out the truth… too ashamed of what she'd allowed to happen. She'd been able to move on and look passed the dark shadows of her past, nearly convincing herself that none of it had actually happened. She should have told someone. She should have done something long ago, but it was too late now. "I'll… I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt him!"

"That's more like it little Ju'oh. Whatever I want, huh? Well, for starters, why don't you ditch the Ishida boy and meet me at the grave of my dear late uncle… Maybe Daddy's ghost is hangin' around here somewhere. We'll show him what a dirty girl his little princess really is. Don't be late… or I may have to play with your delicious boyfriend, instead."

After more muffled cries and a bone chilling laugh from Kean, the line went dead.

Jazz had no choice. She had to save Ichigo, no matter the cost. She looked down the hall and didn't see Uryu anywhere. Quickly, she ran across the room and scurried down the balcony. She didn't have time to run all the way to the cemetery. She only hoped Uryu would forgive her as she jumped into his car and found the keys still in the ignition. Thank the Gods! Throwing the car in reverse she squalled tires and peeled off in the direction of the memorial shrines on the far side of town.


	14. Tears In The Rain

**A/N: Well, this is it guys. The last chapter… sort of. There is a chapter 15 in the works but it's more like a prologue. Sorry I was so late with the update. I wish I had a good excuse but not really. This was just a tough chapter to write. I didn't want it to end =(. Also, it hasn't been beta read. Just finished and wanted to post it ASAP so this one's even a surprise to you, AliceLovesCakes! Lol. Sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Tears in the Rain

As Ichigo slowly woke, he struggled to open his eyes. His head was pounding. It felt like his skull had been split open and he couldn't move. He franticly fought against the pain and confusion to piece together what had happened. The last thing he remembered was walking out the front door of his house and shutting it behind him. Then, he had heard a sickening thump and felt warm blood trickle from his temple down the said of his face far before he even felt the white hot explosion of pain. He barely had time to realize he'd been hit before the ground swirled up to meet him. The next thing he knew, he was here. Where ever here was.

His eyes finally focused on his surroundings. He was at the cemetery, propped up against the wooden pillar of an old shrine gate, behind a row of memorial markers. His hands were bound behind his back. As far as he could tell, his feet and legs were free but felt like they weighed a ton. Something that felt like duct tape was stretched across his mouth. A tall figure loomed over him. Ichigo was still slightly groggy but he recognized the man as Jasmine's cousin, Kean Isaka.

Kean had Ichigo's phone propped between his shoulder and his face and was tossing a dangerously sharp looking dagger between his hands.

"Oh, he's right here with me. He's quite the catch Jasmine." He knelt in front of Ichigo and lightly dragged the blade across Ichigo's jaw line, stopping, and holding it just under his chin.

"I bet he's a lot of fun, isn't he? I may have to see for myself… before I cut out his tongue."

Kean's angelic voice only made his disgusting words more ominous. Ichigo knew he had to find a way out of this situation. He was being used as bait lure Jasmine in. He tried sluggishly to pull his head away but Kean only pushed the razor sharp blade harder against his skin. Ichigo cried out as it bit painfully into his chin. Kean let out a cruel laugh before lifting the dagger again and tossing into the air. He caught it perfectly then stabbed it into the ground beside Ichigo's leg. He then gripped Ichigo's chin tightly, fingers digging into his jaw hard enough to bruise. Kean roughly turned his face to the side and leaned in so close that Ichigo could feel his breath ghosting over his ear.

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut and tried to go to some other place in his mind. Somewhere he could think clearly without this bat shit crazy lunatic literally breathing down his neck. His head was still pounding and his thoughts were a little fuzzy. He was almost certain he had a concussion, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Maybe letting his mind wonder hadn't been the best idea. He'd missed almost all of what Kean had been saying. Something about Jasmine's father… what did that creep just say?

"Don't be late…" Kean was even closer now and Ichigo could actually feel his lips brushing against his ear as he spoke. "Or I might just have to play with your delicious boyfriend instead." Kean's tongue snaked out and teased at Ichigo's earlobe.

Ichigo's stomach lurched and he squirmed away, trying to scream every vile word he could think of at the perverse maniac but it was no use. All of his struggling and muffled curses only seemed to amuse Kean more. He laughed, a sickly cold sound, then stood, throwing the phone against one of the crumbling stone monuments.

Ichigo watched as his phone shattered into countless pieces. He scratched at the ground behind his back, coming in contact with a palm sized rock. He raked it into his hands and held it tight. It had one sharp edge and Ichigo only hoped it was sharp enough to undo the ropes around his wrists. As he began to work them against the rock, Kean turned and smiled. All of his handsome looks and suave demeanor seemed to melt away. Now he looked like a man on the edge of sanity. His blonde hair was lackluster and stringy, his blue eyes now looked an unearthly pale gray, and even his tall posture had changed. His shoulders were drawn and he looked like a snake coiled in on itself, ready to strike. He reminded Ichigo of a comic book villain who'd mentally snapped.

Ichigo needed time. He needed to stall Kean in whatever it was he had planned long enough to get his hands untied. He tested the strength of his legs. He could move them now, but he didn't try. He just needed to distract Kean for a little bit longer. He forcibly softened his expression and mumbled against the duct tape.

"What's that? I can't seem to hear you." Kean said mockingly as he squatted back down in front of Ichigo. "Let me guess. You want to know why I'm doing this. You want me to let you go, is that it?"

Ichigo feigned shyness and lowered his eyes to the ground. He slowly shook his head, then glanced back up at Kean. He felt the rope begin to fray behind him. Just a few more minutes.

"No, huh? Then want could you possibly want?" Kean reached out and caressed Ichigo's cheek before ripping the tape off.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and hissed against the pain. He worked his jaw a few times then looked at Kean. His mind was drawing a blank. What could he say to keep him talking? "I… I want you to tell me about Jazz. She's… she's hiding something from me. What is it you and Aria are trying to protect her from?"

"Protect her? Ha! Aria has never protected my little Ju'oh from anything!" Kean stood and began pacing. "All she ever did was stand in our way! I did everything she asked me to do…, I made sure Oren was there to save her when she got attacked… a lot of good that did! I took Jasmine's power, I sealed it so it just like she said. I did it all so Aria would forget this crazy idea of marrying Jasmine off to some no good half breed Quincy! And what does she do? She arranges it anyway. So I killed her and my useless excuse of a sister! She shouldn't have tried to stop me. Ha! They can't stand in my way now! Jasmine is mine! Do you understand? She's mine. Not yours, or the Ishida boy's, or anyone else's!"

Ichigo stared at Kean as he waved his hands in the air and continued to shout. "Did you know I was her first? No, she never told you, did she? She was ashamed. She was so young! I should have waited but I couldn't help it. She knew then that she loved me, but as she aged, she started to think it was wrong… what we were doing… what I was doing. I tried to replace her. So many over the years, I've lost count. But they weren't like her. They weren't pure and innocent… or willing. But now, oh you just wait. She may not be willing at first, but when she sees how good it can be… when I remind her of how much better I am than YOU, she'll love me again."

Ichigo was sick. He didn't want to believe what Kean was saying. He'd killed Aria and Kasha? Jazz had been sexually abused by her own cousin at a young age. How young? It was more than he could stand. As the rope finally snapped loose from around his wrists, he gripped the rock, the only weapon he had at his disposal, firmly in his palm. He needed to get the ranting monster closer if he even hoped to have a good shot at him. He shifted his legs minutely so that he could stand in a hurry when he needed to.

"So… were you lying when you said you wanted to play with me?" The slight quiver of his voice made him sound nervous, which would suit his words, but the truth was, he was just disgusted. He wouldn't let this sicko lay a finger on him! He averted his eyes and turned his head to the side, but kept Kean's movements in his peripheral vision.

Kean abruptly stopped pacing, a devious grin splitting his face. "Oh? You liked the sound of that, did ya?" He took a few steps toward his presumably tied up victim.

Ichigo hesitated only for a moment. He hadn't forgotten that his captor was a Quincy. They were expert long ranged fighters. He had to act fast, get in close, and stay there. In a blur of movement, Ichigo jumped to his feet and swung. He was rewarded with the sound of impact as the rock in his hand made contact with Kean's temple. Kean staggered back with a shrill cry. Ichigo didn't give him any more time to react as he landed a swift kick to his rib cage. Kean flew back and fell flat. Ichigo advanced quickly, landing on top of him. He unleashed a flurry of punches as Kean spattered and groaned.

"You… sick… bastard!" Ichigo wailed as his fists connected over and over again. "You'll never… touch me… or Jazz… or anyone… ever… again!"

Ichigo was blind with rage and disgust. He barely noticed when the man beneath him ceased to move. Nor did he notice the frantic cries from behind him.

"Ichigo! Stop!" Jazz screamed. She was glad to see that Ichigo was safe but he was beating Kean so badly. He was usually so kind and gentle. She knew he would regret killing her cousin later even if Kean deserved it. She ran down the winding gravel path toward the gruesome scene as quickly as she could. When she reached them, she laid her hands gently on Ichigo's shoulders. "Ichigo…"

Ichigo stilled at the sound of her voice. He breathed heavily and looked down at the mass of blood and swollen skin. Kean's face was nearly unrecognizable. He was still breathing in ragged wet pants but was otherwise completely motionless. Ichigo stood slowly and turned toward Jasmine, his face showing little emotion.

Jasmine gently brushed her hand over the still bleeding cut on his chin. "Are you okay?" She breathed. His shirt and hands were splattered in deep crimson droplets but as far as she could tell, very little of it was actually Ichigo's own blood. He blinked at her a few times before making a choking sound then embracing her tightly.

"Ichigo… I should have told you… I'm so sorry…" she started before breaking into tears. The disgusting secret she'd kept for so long had nearly destroyed them both. Kean could have killed Ichigo so easily if he'd wanted to and it would have been all her fault.

"Don't." Ichigo spoke softly but sternly as he pulled her back to look into her eyes. "Don't you apologize for what he did to you."

She softly nodded and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. "Let's just go. We still need to get out of town." She mumbled into his chest.

"Jasmine… I don't know if that's necessary now." Ichigo was trying to sort out his feelings over what had just happened. He wasn't exactly sure how to tell Jazz that Aria and Kasha were dead. They no longer needed to run from Karakura but he was far from relieved. Loss of life was never something to be relieved about.

"Jazz!" Uryu yelled out from down the path. The two turned and walked down the path toward their friend who was quickly approaching. "Shit! Ichigo, did you killed him?" Uryu said only briefly glancing past them at Kean's bloody form. Ichigo just shook his head and Uryu sighed. "You shouldn't have ran off like that, Jazz, but I see why you did… There's something I need to show you." He held out the scrapbook of pictures to Jazz who paled at the contents. "There's something else. I'm sorry… I found Kasha and Aria in the master bathroom. They're… they're dead. The cold blooded freak cut their throats and left them there to bleed out."

"Oh no…" Jasmine could never have claimed to be close to her sister or her cousin but they were her family. She did love them in her own way and there was a time, long ago, that Aria had actually been a real big sister to her.

Ichigo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "Kean confessed that he'd killed them. We can go to the police. They can handle it from here."

"Okay…" Jazz stared blankly ahead. Ichigo may have told her not to apologize but the truth of her past was weighing her down. She needed to be sure that he and Uryu knew exactly what had happened.

"I… I was just a child… I didn't know what was happening." She began. She looked up to see that neither of them were going to question what she was talking about. They understood fully.

"He… he said he loved me… and that I was beautiful. That it was what people did when they loved each other. I didn't know… I believed him. I really thought I loved him. But when I got older, and realized how wrong I'd been… he'd been… I begged him to stop. The last time, he didn't listen. He attacked me, drugged me somehow, then said that if I told anyone at all he'd tell my father what I'd let him do to me. I was so mortified. Even after my father died, I was afraid of anyone finding out. Then he never came back for me like that again. I thought it was because he thought I was useless without my powers. Maybe that was true. I'm so sorry I never said anything. If I'd have just told someone… anyone… maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Ichigo wrapped her up in one arm as Uryu reached out and took her by the hand. "Kean took advantage of you. You aren't to blame." Uryu said squeezing her hand gently.

Jasmine felt a rise in spiritual pressure and spun Ichigo out of the way nearly a second too late. She felt a searing pain tear through the left side of her chest and saw the blue flash of the arrow as it ripped through flesh and bone.

Without second thought, she produced her own bow, aimed, and fired in perfect precision, hitting the now kneeling Kean square between the eyes as another arrow whisked by her and buried itself deep within his heart. She and Uryu had naturally shot in unison… as they'd always done in training. She would have smiled at the memory, if not for the awful sight of Kean's body falling limply backward and the numbness spreading through her veins.

Ichigo caught her and lowered her to the ground holding her in his lap as her legs crumpled under the weight of her body. She was so cold and numb except for the emanating pain from the wound in her chest.

"Jazz! Hold on Jasmine! Just look at me, baby. You're gonna be okay." Ichigo called but his voice seemed so far away.

Uryu quickly pulled out his cell, calling Orihime and then Urahara, begging them both to hurry. "Don't give up, Jazz! You stay with us! Do you hear me?" He cried franticly at her in between calls.

Ichigo subconsciously started rocking her back and forth in his lap. "She's fine Ishida! She's not going anywhere!" He lashed out, fighting tears.

The cool rain started to fall again and washed over Jasmine, causing blood to run in thin red ribbons all around them. She weakly smiled up at Ichigo. "Ichigo… Do me a favor. Would you?" She asked in a whisper. "Look after Uryu for me. His stubbornness makes him take idiotic risks, sometimes."

"No… you can look after him yourself! Don't talk like that!" Ichigo said in a panic.

Jazz shook her head and laughed, then wheezed as this small action caused pain to shoot through her left side. "You two are so much alike… in more ways than you even know. Just promise me, Ichigo. Please!" She begged.

"Okay… I promise." Ichigo sniffled. The rain running down his face mixed with his tears as he silently pleaded to the heavens for Jazz's life. He couldn't let her go now. He'd just found the one thing in this world that made him truly happy. This wasn't fair!

"And promise… that if I make it to the soul society… you'll look for me there." It was getting harder to breathe. Jazz didn't want to leave Ichigo but she could feel the pull of her soul trying to leave her body. She didn't have much time. The appearance of the two shadowy figures on the distant hill behind Ichigo told her that.

"I'll never stop looking for you, Jasmine. I love you so much! Please…. Please don't leave me!"

"I love you. I… I always will." Jasmine's eyes fluttered before focusing on Uryu who had come to kneel beside them. "Thank you…for everything, Uryu… You are my best friend… and I…"

"Stop!" Uryu cried. "You're not dying here! Help is coming! We're going to save you!"

She sighed and smiled looking between them. "You already did… I love you both… take care… of each other." And with that, she closed her eyes and took one last breath.

"Jazz?" Ichigo breathed warily. "Jasmine? No… NO!" He shook her wildly. "No! Don't leave me! Open your eyes, Jazz…. Please!" He held her limp body close sobbing into her wet plastered hair. He'd made her a promise to look for her. How was he supposed to do that? He couldn't even get to the soul society without his powers. What cruel twist of fate would take his first true love away from him this way! He cried out in anguish. He'd never felt this kind of pain before.

Ichigo's tormented wail cut through Uryu like a knife yet he didn't even flinch. His heart was shattering into a million pieces. He watched as Jasmine's soul departed unable to do anything to stop it. "Please… he whispered to her retreating ethereal form, "I never told you." As she faded from sight, he swore that a warm summery breeze enveloped him. "I truly love you, Jasmine." He thought.

 _Jasmine stood atop of the hill, looking down onto the cemetery below. She could just barely make out Ichigo and Uryu who were now being joined by Urahara and the others. She looked to her side and smiled at the short, dark haired girl standing to her right. "Rukia… He'll be alright, won't he?"_

 _Rukia smiled gently and nodded._

 _From beside Rukia, the handsome red head chimed in, "Ichigo's a fighter. He always has been. He's going to be just fine."_

 _Jazz looked up into his eyes. "Will you keep an eye on him?"_

 _Renji scoffed. "Always do."_

 _Jasmine glanced back down at Ichigo and wiped away a stray tear. "Am I really going to the soul society?"_

" _Of course. You're a human soul, aren't you?" Rukia told her warmly._

" _Is there a way to let him know that?" she thought about the promise she'd asked Ichigo to make. She desperately needed him to know that she'd be waiting for him._

 _Rukia nodded again. "I think I can arrange that… I want to thank you for making Ichigo smile again, even for a little while." Her voice held a bit of sadness. "I'm sorry we couldn't have gotten here fast enough to help you. I wish we could have avoided all this pain. I know you two really love each other."_

" _I've never loved anyone more." Jazz proudly admitted._

" _You know, a love like that never really dies." Renji came around and rested a big hand on Jazz's shoulder. "It continues on in the soul."_

 _Jasmine considered his words for a moment. She believed that was true. She couldn't imagine spending one single moment of the next life not loving Ichigo._

" _Are you ready?" Renji asked, removing Zabimaru from its sheath and readying for the soul burial ritual._

 _Jazz took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Yes, I think I am."_

 _ **I'll be waiting for you, Ichigo**_ **.**

 **A/N: Okay…. Wow. I made myself cry a bit rereading it. I did warn you guys about character death in the description…. And it was a Romeo and Juliet spin off, so… sorry? It's been a hell of an adventure and I have absolutely fell in love with this story along the way. It may even get a bit of a rewrite somewhere in the future. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Stay tuned for the prologue. It's kinda heavy cannon and it will be a little short but I think ya'll are gonna like it. I hope you will anyway. As always, thank you all for your support and Love Ya'll! See ya soon!**

 **Dedicating the song 'Right Here Waiting' by Richard Marx to all of you, this chapter, and of course, to Jasmine and Ichigo! =( Give it a listen, and see if it doesn't hit you in the feels. Lol.**


	15. Prologue: What's In a Name?

_Star Crossed Prologue:_

 _What's In a Name?_

"It's been two months. I still miss you, every single minute of every single day. Will it ever get any easier?" Ichigo sat cross-legged staring at the memorial in front of him. He reached his hand out and traced the delicate lettering on the stone. Jasmine's name was so cold under his fingers. This was all he had left of her but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. "Guess it will, eventually. That's what they keep telling me anyway."

He stood and dusted off the back of his jeans. It was almost time for school. "Well, I just wanted to stop by for a little while and tell you happy birthday. The big eighteen…" he let out a long sigh. "I haven't stopped looking for a way to get to you. I promise. Just wait for me, Jazz. I love you."

After school, he, Orihime, and Tatsuke talked for a while about graduation and their plans after. None of it made much of a difference to him either way. He'd been running on autopilot for a couple months now. School…Work…Home… over and over. He stayed busy with all of it, including the various clubs and sports teams he rented himself out to here and there. Right now, it was the school soccer team that waited for him. He'd had to call his boss and ask for another week off because of that and it hadn't exactly gone to well.

A commotion at the front gates of the school pulled his attention away from his thoughts. "Hey, I'm looking for Ichigo Kurosaki! Where's he at?" A big burly thug yelled. The accompanying minions around him echoed his question. "Yeah, where's he at?" "Where's Kurosaki?"

Who the hell were these guys? Ichigo didn't recognize any of them. Except… the one with the beat up face. Yeah, he knew that one. The bag snatcher he'd belted in the jaw earlier. He was starting to understand the situation a little better now. But, what the hell?

While the big guy was blabbering on about how he found out Ichigo's name, Ishida had sauntered right up to the crowd of morons and was now berating them about their scare tactics. That's when one of them made the mistake of calling him Kurosaki and the fight was on. Damn, why'd Ishida have to stick his nose in? Ichigo interfered only because… well, it wasn't Ishida's fight to begin with and he'd made a promise to Jasmine to look out for the dumbass.

Amidst the kicks and punches, the two managed to hurl a few insults at each other. "I made a promise Ishida! You don't have to like it…. You just have to deal with it!" Ichigo shouted.

"I made a promise, too, Jerk! So back off!" Couldn't Ichigo see that Uryu was trying his best to look after him like he'd told Jazz he would? Uryu missed Jasmine more than anyone seemed to understand. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about her all the time and somehow just looking at Kurosaki made it that much worse.

Since Jazz wasn't around to keep the peace, their friendship had become shaky at best. Not that they'd had a huge falling out or anything. They'd just fallen back into the habit of merely tolerating each other even though they both knew how deep of a connection they really shared.

Uryu noticed an odd aura surrounding Ichigo and tried to question him about it but was quickly interrupted by a new set of idiots threatening to beat them into submission. As he stood listening to the leader and Ichigo banter back and forth, he thought about what he had sensed that day with Jazz at Urahara's. It had been coming from Ichigo then, too, but somehow this was different. Whatever the cause, then and now, there was definitely some sort of spiritual power clinging to Ichigo.

Uryu was brought back to the situation at hand by a sudden change in scenery. Though they both could have handled the new comers, the next thing he knew, the thugs were sprawled out all around him and Ichigo was being whisked away by his psycho boss who really didn't like to be told no.

Work had seemed to just make Ichigo's day even longer. The strange man he'd recovered the stolen bag for earlier showed up and made an even stranger request. Producing a picture of his father, he'd asked for information on him then acted completely surprised when Ichigo told him that it was his father in the photo. The man told him that secrets were being kept from him and that he should go to Urahara's and see what he finds. Ichigo wasn't buying for a second!

Meanwhile, at Urahara's shop, Kisuke busied himself with gathering everything that Karin Kurosaki had asked for. Since her spiritual pressure had flared, she had been coming in frequently for various odds and ends to deal with the constant barrage of spirits surrounding her. "Is that everything, then?" he asked handing the bag full of supplies over.

"Yeah, thanks. You sure I don't need to pay you for this?" Karin hesitantly asked.

"No, we're good. The thing is, I owe your brother a lot. How is he, anyway? Still the same?"

"Yep." She answered, barely even looking at Kisuke.

"And… you're alright with what's happened?" he asked. He wasn't really trying to pry. He was just genuinely concerned about Ichigo and his family. He'd been through so much in the last year and a half. He was a strong young man but there was only so much a person could take.

"Yeah…. It's alright. I think he's dealing with it in his own way. He's the kind of person that bottles up his feelings. If he doesn't want to talk about her… that's fine. And if he never gets his soul reaper powers back, that's fine, too. Ichigo's been fighting and mourning for most of his life. Even before he became a soul reaper, he's buried his own burdens and took on everyone else's. He's always had something to fight for, someone to protect. That's why it's fine for him to bury his pain, if he wants. It's fine for things to be how they are. It's our turn now, to protect him. I'll see ya around." She said and briskly walked away leaving Kisuke to wonder if the young Kurosaki girl knew just what there was to protect her brother from.

Outside, Ichigo watched from the ally as Karin ran from Urahara's. "What the hell's she doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"Are you worried? You must be." The voice of the strange man echoed from behind him. Ichigo turned to see him walking toward him. "Seeing your little sister dealing with a sketchy character like Kisuke Urahara."

"Hey! There's nothing sketchy about him!" Ichigo retorted.

"Oh no, he's the one that saved all of us, right?"

"Ichigo was taken back. How did this man know so much?

"Just how much do you think you know about your good friend, Urahara? Here's some advice. Act now while you can. That is, if you want to protect your family." The man said. The tone of his voice signified that he knew many things about Urahara as well as Ichigo and his family.

Ichigo decided to consider his next words wisely until he could figure out just how much he could trust this stranger. "So… I didn't catch your name. Just who the hell are you?"

"Name's Kugo…. Kugo Ginjo."

 _To be continued…_

 _In Bleach Ch. 429 =)_

 _The End… for now._


End file.
